At least 11 Haitian migrants die in capsizing

MIAMI (Reuters) - At least 11 people drowned and up to 10 others, including five children, were unaccounted for after a small boat packed with Haitian migrants seeking to enter the United States illegally capsized off the Bahamas, authorities said on Tuesday.

Haitian President Michel Martelly voiced "consternation" over news of the sinking in a statement issued in Port-au-Prince, saying 28 "illegal Haitian travelers" had been crowded aboard the 25-foot (7.6 meter) boat when it sank in rough seas off North Abaco island in the Bahamas.

The boat, a Bahamian vessel called the "Glory Time," capsized on Sunday, shortly after setting out from the island en route to Florida.

Martelly said seven people had been rescued while 11 bodies were recovered and 10 people were still officially listed as missing.

A spokesman for the Royal Bahamas Police Force could not be reached for immediate comment on continuing search and rescue efforts, but Martelly said the missing included five children.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas and there is a long and tragic history of people drowning while trying to escape its crushing poverty in rickety boats headed for the United States.

(Reporting By Tom Brown; Editing by Sandra Maler)