FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Five migrants of various nationalities came ashore Tuesday morning in Fort Lauderdale, U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector Division Chief Todd Bryant said.
The migrants came ashore shortly before 10 a.m. near the Southeast 17th Street bridge.
Bryant said five men were taken into custody. He said one of them was taken to a local hospital to be treated for possible dehydration.
"We looked out of our window and saw a lot of choppers, and then maybe the pier, you could that police has taken someone into custody," one tourist, David Eyad, told Local 10 News reporter Carlos Suarez.
Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officers were searching for other migrants in the area.
Bryant said the migrants had possibly been smuggled into the country.
Authorities converged in the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six parking lot. Police tape blocked off the area as authorities searched the boat the suspected migrants were on.
It's unclear what was found on the boat, but authorities were seen removing a backpack.