PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — The authorities in Haiti are conducting investigations following an incident in which 17 people lost their lives when a small makeshift sailboat carrying more than 30 passengers and goods capsized in the channel that separates Haiti from the island of Tortuga, in the northwest of the country.

Among the dead are two two-year-olds and a dozen women, authorities said.

On the boat were residents of Tortuga Island who were returning home from the municipal market in the city of Saint-Louis-du-Nord.

According to the Service Maritime et de Navigation d’Haiti (SEMANAH), the sinking was caused by the overloading of the sailboat and gusts of wind.

Officials at SEMANAH added that the boat’s captain was not granted permission to head out to sea.

Meanwhile, rescue operations have been ongoing with brigadiers of the Directorate for Civil Protection in an attempt to find bodies and possible survivors.

It’s also reported that some of the passengers who survived the wreck were taken to La Tortue or to the island of Saint-Louis-du-Nord to be checked.

In reacting to the tragedy, President Jovenel Moïse said, “I learned with great sorrow the news of the sinking of a boat off the island of La Tortue. The authorities concerned are mobilised to find the missing bodies and possible survivors. I share the pain of relatives and friends affected by this tragedy.”

According to the Haitian authorities, the small sailboat called Ancelita had about 30 people on board and merchandise exceeding the limit of its capacity.