Florida ? U.S. Coast Guard patrol officers stopped 78 Haitians fleeing their country in a “dangerously overloaded” homemade boat, an agency spokesman said Monday, while two smaller groups of Cuban immigrants landed on South Florida shores.

The Haitians left in a 37-foot sailing vessel and had reached the Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba when officers saw them early Sunday, said spokesman Petty Officer 3rd Class Barry Bena. “For the size of the vessel, when you have more than it’s supposed to carry, (it) becomes very unstable,” Bena said.

Because the boat was so close to Haiti, Bena said, the Haitians are likely to be turned over to authorities back in their country.