December 15, 1999
Web posted at: 8:54 a.m. EST (1354 GMT)

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From staff and wire reports

GUATEMALA CITY (CNN) -- A disabled freighter -- teeming with more than 200 Chinese migrants being smuggled to the Americas -- was towed to safety Tuesday afternoon on the shores of Guatemala.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro towed the ship, the Wing Fung Lung, to Puerto Quetzal, a city some 50 miles south of the capital Guatemala City after discovering it five days ago 200 miles off the coast, said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Robertson.

Coast Guard officials said the ship evidently had been at sea for more than two months and that passengers had been without food or water for two days when it was discovered.

Frank Neville, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, said the freighter ran into mechanical problems at the end of a 70-day journey.

The incident began last Thursday when the Munro, on routine patrol in international waters of the Pacific, spotted a red emergency flare in the vicinity of the vessel, Robertson said.

Robertson said when the Munro approached the vessel, it found numerous people had abandoned ship. It is not known whether they jumped overboard because they feared the vessel was sinking or to escape others on board, he said.

The Coast Guard launched a small boat to rescue the people in the water.

Coast Guard officials described the Wing Fung Lung as "in very poor condition" and said conditions on board were "deplorable."

Crew members on the vessel claimed the ship was Taiwanese, but that was found not to be so, Robertson said. The ship's nationality and registry are not known, he said.

Officials said that because of conditions on the ship, they were unable to accurately count the passengers and crew.

Many of the immigrants, including women, were suffering from exposure and dehydration and were taken onshore on stretchers by medical teams.

The immigrants will be temporarily housed in Guatemalan military bases before being deported back to China, Guatemalan foreign ministry officials said.

Neville said the United States has agreed to provide the immigrants with food, clothing and other daily necessities.

Guatemala has become a major transit point for thousands of undocumented immigrants seeking jobs and economic prosperity in the United States.

Last month, local authorities deported eight undocumented Chinese immigrants who had arrived in the Central American country on a boat along with 30 other immigrants.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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