The Virginian-Pilot 
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996                TAG: 9603020234
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   31 lines

COAST GUARD RETURNS 96 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A Portsmouth-based Coast Guard cutter rescued 96 illegal Dominican migrants from a boat that ran out of fuel 17 miles east of the Dominican Republic Thursday afternoon.

The Harriet Lane, a medium endurance cutter, repatriated the migrants to the Dominican Republic on Friday.

The migrants' 35-foot motorized wooden canoe, which the Coast Guard called ``grossly overloaded,'' was first spotted by a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft.

The boat was destroyed as a hazard to navigation.

A Portsmouth-based Coast Guard cutter rescued 96 illegal Dominican migrants from a boat that ran out of fuel 17 miles east of the Dominican Republic Thursday afternoon.

The Harriet Lane, a medium endurance cutter, repatriated the migrants to the Dominican Republic on Friday.

The migrants' 35-foot motorized wooden canoe, which the Coast Guard called ``grossly overloaded,'' was first spotted by a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft.

The boat was destroyed as a hazard to navigation.

KEYWORDS: U.S. COAST GUARD RESCUE by CNB