Gordon Fallis Gordon Fallis

A BOAT THAT washed up on the west coast of Ireland is thought to have been used by Cuban migrants travelling to the US.

The makeshift vessel was found on a beach near Mullaghmore and Cliffoney in Co Sligo.

Images of the strange sight were then shared in the ‘Lost at Sea’ Facebook group by a local who spotted the vessel at the end of January.

The origin of the boat was discovered by reading the labels on the plastic bottles used to make the boat more buoyant – which were Cuban.

Gordon Fallis Gordon Fallis

This type of makeshift boat is nicknamed a ‘Cuban chug’ based on the noise their improvised engines make – this particular boat had a car engine inside.

It’s thought that the boat could have been used to make the journey from Cuba to Florida, but that the US coast guard intervened, sent the people aboard the boat back to Cuba, letting the boat drift out to sea.

Some of the boat's design included the use of plastic bottles. Gordon Fallis Gordon Fallis

It’s the first time a vessel like this has been recorded washing ashore in Europe, according to BBC Newline.

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