Coast Guard crews have rescued 19 Haitian migrants after smugglers abandoned them on an uninhabited deserted island, it has emerged.

Astonished rescuers found the migrants perched on rocky cliffs on Montino Island, nearly 50 miles from Puerto Rico.

Emergency radio operators at the San Juan base had received a call from a patrol boat saying they could see people on the island.

But they could not launch a rescue until three days later on 8th January because seas were too rough to make a landing on the rocky coast.

A video shared by the U.S. Coast Guard District 7 shows the moment the nine women and 10 men jump into the sea after they have been given rescue vests.

Once onboard, the crew gave them food, water and basic medical care.

Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier commanding officer Lt Devonte Weems said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “The small boat crew’s thorough assessment of the situation and their actions led to the safe rescue of all 19 survivors.

“People are risking their lives and the lives of their loved ones at sea without realizing how dangerous these voyages can be.”

The survivors were later handed over to agents from the Ramey Sector U.S Border Patrol in the municipality of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Reports said that the Coast Guard has carried out 14 illegal voyage interdictions in the waters near Puerto Rico from 1st October until 31st December 2022.

Over the same period, they reportedly caught 419 immigrants, out of which 327 were Dominicans, 91 were Haitians and one of unknown nationality.