A chartered boat with about 27 people on board was hijacked from Cuba today and has entered Bahamas waters, the Cuban government said.
An official statement said the Cuban Coast Guard had followed the boat until it entered Bahamian waters and asked the government of Bahamas to return the vessel and its hijackers.
The boat, belonging to the Cuban marine surveying company GeoCuba, left the port of Nuevitas, on the north coast of the central Cuban province of Camaguey at 3.50 a.m.
A Cuban Coast Guard patrol that followed the hijacked boat reported seven men on the deck and about 20 people inside, the statement added.