The U.S. Coast Guard pulled 176 Haitians from an overloaded, unseaworthy wooden sailing vessel as it approached the Florida Keys, officials said.

The rescue effort unfolded on Monday after a flight crew with Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations spotted the 60-foot vessel some 40 kilometres northeast of Anguilla Cay, Bahamas, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The crew of the Cutter Paul Clark provided personal flotation devices to those onboard the boat, which didn’t have basic life saving equipment or navigation lights, officials said. A crew from the Coast Guard station in Islamorada, Fla., then worked