Turks and Caicos - (AP) - Authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands have detained 39 Haitians suspected of trying to illegally enter the British territory during a storm that forced patrol boats back to shore, police said Tuesday.
The migrants were on a boat that landed on the island of Providenciales before dawn Monday amid heavy rain and strong winds, said Detective Sgt. Calvin Chase, a spokesman for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.

Police were still searching for other migrants who may have been on the approximately 20-foot (6-meter), motor-powered vessel, which was abandoned at the shore, Chase said.

The capture of the 34 men and five women confirms that Haitians are still making risky sea voyages to the Turks and Caicos despite recent government efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants and a decline in the jobs that lure them from their impoverished homeland.

Migrants have long crossed from Haiti by boat to the Turks and Caicos to find work, though that has become more difficult amid the global recession. They have also been known to travel to the territory to find smugglers to take them to other islands or to the United States.

A sailboat packed with migrants struck a reef near Providenciales on July 26, killing at least 15 people and leaving dozens missing.