A boat crammed with 114 Haitian migrants landed in the Florida Keys Thursday morning after a reportedly rough nine days at sea.

Jeffrey Francois, one of the passengers, told WPLG-TV that the boat was in the ocean for nine days and that the passengers feared their imminent demise on two separate occasions because of the terrible conditions on the boat and in the sea.

“The migrants were crammed in both decks. There is a lower deck where they were crammed in and they reported the water was horrible. The conditions at sea were terrible,” Adam Hoffner, an official with Customs and Border Protection’s Miami Sector, told Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ-TV.

The migrants — 94 men, 10 women and 10 juveniles, according to the Key West Citizen — began exiting the boat before landing, opting to swim instead to Tavernier, in Key Largo.

“It was crazy. It almost capsized and they all jumped off and started swimming into the land,” Michael Diaz, a witness, told WPLG-TV.

John Priddy, executive director of CPB’s Air and Marine Operations Southeast Division, tweeted, “These voyages are dangerous and not recommended” as he posted pictures of the boat and migrants.

In another Twitter thread, CBP Miami Sector Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar posted videos of the scene. 

Mr. Slosar said local emergency services had provided primary medical attention to the migrants, who would then receive further medical attention from CBP personnel after being processed by authorities.

Another 26 migrants from Cuba were detained by the CBP in the uninhabited Marquesas Keys west of Key West Wednesday.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.