Two found alive after weeks adrift on a boat

Fishermen on Friday found two men on a boat that had been adrift at sea for more than three weeks, the Dominican navy said. The other 49 migrants who had been aboard were believed dead.

The men, who were naked, spoke only a couple of words before passing out, the fishermen said.

Navy Cmdr. Edwin Dominicci said the men were hospitalized with severe dehydration and sunburn.

Crews were searching for more survivors or bodies in the waters just south of Haiti’s coast, where the boat was found, said navy spokesman Benny Batista. Authorities also were trying to determine who organized the trip.

The rescue comes weeks after five Dominican migrants survived and 28 perished on another boat. The survivors said they had eaten the flesh of a dead person, and were later charged with involuntary manslaughter for helping organize an illegal trip.

Hundreds have died while trying to cross the treacherous Mona Passage to Puerto Rico.