Three Cubans Rescued Off Coast of Florida
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Three men who sailed on inner tubes from Cuba were rescued Wednesday off the Florida coast, the Coast Guard said. They had severe cases of sunburn and were suffering from exposure from the five-day, 250-mile journey.
The men were turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and taken to a hospital, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
Carlos Quintana, 24, Luis Chappottin Marin, 31, and Humberto Rodriguez Valdez, 27, told authorities that they left East Havana Friday, sneaking out after dark while President Fidel Castro was making a speech commemorating the anniversary of the revolution. They tied their inner tubes together to keep from becoming separated.
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