A Styrofoam raft with clothes, food, a Santeria altar and a Cuban national ID card washed ashore in Miami, and the Coast Guard said the four people seen on-board it are alive.
The raft was discovered Saturday near the Black Point Marina. Nancy, who declined to provide her last name, and her husband found it as they walked a trail at the marina.
"At the end of the trail was a raft, an empty raft," she said.
Inside the 12-foot raft was an altar to Elegua, the Santeria god that opens and closes all paths to mankind.
There was also a Cuban ID card that could have helped the owner stay in the U.S. under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy.
The Coast Guard said witnesses saw four people on-board the raft from the Carnival Valor
"They started asking for help, or yelling for help I should say, and that's when the cruise ship Carnival Valor saw them and picked them up," said Jon-Paul Rios with the Coast Guard.
The crew fed the four and kept them on-board for a week, said Rios.
Styrofoam raft washes up in South Florida
A Styrofoam raft believed to belong to Cuban rafters washes up in South Florida. But what happened to the passengers?
More than 350 rafters made it to the U.S. in the 12 months that ended Sept. 30. The number who died trying to cross the Florida Straits is unknown.
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