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At least 17 people from Haiti have died in a boat accident off the coast of The Bahamas, the government has said, BBC reported.

Bahamian PM Philip Davis said it is thought those on board were travelling from Haiti to Miami, Florida in the US.

Police in The Bahamas said the boat capsized more than 11 km (6.8 miles) off the island of New Providence. 

Another 25 people were rescued, including one woman who was found alive inside the overturned boat, authorities said.

One child was among the dead. At least one person is still missing, with search missions underway.

Two people were taken into custody, both from The Bahamas, over the suspected human smuggling operation, officials said.

The numbers of people attempting the dangerous journey to the United States have increased significantly with the rise in Haiti of gang violence, coupled with endemic poverty.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the speed boat left New Providence, the most populous island in The Bahamian archipelago, around 01:00 (0500 GMT) on Sunday with some 60 people on board, according to BBC.

One woman was found alive after police heard her "knocking on the hull of the boat", said Clayton Fernander, police commissioner of The Bahamas.

"The divers eventually went down and that's where they recovered the bodies, the 17 bodies," he said.

"There was one female who was still alive, was up in the air pocket of the hull of that boat, so I believe that that's what kept her alive."

Immigration Minister Keith Bell said survivors indicated that they paid between $3,000 and $8,000 (£2,500 and £6,670) for the voyage.

"We mourn lives lost of those seeking a better way of life," Mr Bell said. "Those here with families and friends in Haiti, encourage your loved ones not to risk their lives."

In May, at least 11 people, mostly from Haiti, died near the US territory of Puerto Rico, BBC reported.

Police on Sunday carried out a raid at a call centre in Janakinagar of Tilottama Municipality-2, Rupandehi and apprehended nine team leaders including an Indian national for their alleged involvement in defrauding people through various means.

A team deployed from the Area Police Office Butwal raided the Blue Sky Business Solution Pvt. Ltd and detained them for cheating the commoners through phone call and WhatsApp among others, DSP Thug Bahadur KC said.

He said that the team recovered 240 sets of mobile phones, hundreds of computers and other materials from the call centre being operated with an investment of Indian and Chinese nationals.

DSP KC said that they had been cheating and blackmailing people by sending fake messages, obscene pictures and videos of of the victims to the mobile phones of their relatives.

Police are interrogating with 240 staffers working at the call centre.

Rupendahi police said that they are looking into the case.

At least six persons died when a bus met with an accident at Laghuwa in Ribdikot Rural Municipality-2 of Palpa on Sunday.

The identities of the deceased are yet to be established, police said.

The incident occurred when the bus (Lu 1 Kha 5952) heading towards Butwal from Majuwa, Gulmi fell some 100 metres down the road at around 4 pm today.

Further details of the incident are awaited, police said.

Nepal recorded 347 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 360 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 303 returned positive. Likewise, 1,528 people underwent antigen tests, of which 44 tested positive.

The Ministry said that 95 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.

As of today, there are 3, 177 active cases in the country.

Among them, 3, 035 are in home isolation and 142 are in institutionalized isolation.

Of the people who are staying in institutionalized isolation, 22 are undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Units and two on ventilators.

Meanwhile, the Kathmandu recorded higest 169 new cases today.

According to the Ministry, 35 cases are reported in Lalitpur, 27 in Kaski and 17 in Morang and 12 in Bhaktapur.