MIAMI -- A tramp freighter packed with hundreds of Haitian migrants ran aground off Miami's Key Biscayne Saturday after trying to outrun a U.S. Coast Guard patrol, the Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard crews took 406 people -- all those on board -- off the overcrowded 60-foot wooden vessel safely, racing against an ebbing tide that threatened to capsize the grounded freighter and toss those on board into the water or trap them below deck."It was a pretty big concern," Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Carr said. "It's the last thing you want. You didn't want a flip where it could have been tragic."

The boat was first intercepted about 30 minutes after midnight as New Year's revelers in Miami were ringing in the new century and fireworks lit up the sky.

The captain refused to stop but got stuck off Elliott Key about an hour later. The freighter managed to free itself and again tried to evade the Coast Guard but was grounded at about 4 a.m. in Biscayne Bay.

Four rescue boats, five patrol boats and two cutters had circled the boat, stuck in shallow waters about a mile-and-half off Key Biscayne.

A Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead as crews talked with the migrants, many of whom refused to leave the grounded freighter. Life jackets were passed to those who would take them.

Thousands of Haitians have attempted the 600-mile voyage from their impoverished Caribbean homeland to Florida shores, usually in unseaworthy sailboats or small, leaky coastal freighters. Most are considered to be fleeing poverty rather than political oppression and are repatriated.

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The rescued migrants -- a group that could include some Dominicans, officials said -- were taken aboard Coast Guard cutters for interviews by U.S. authorities. It was likely most would be sent back home, Coast Guard Commander Ron LaBrec said.

The latest voyage was likely a smuggling trip to try to bring Haitians illegally to the United States, LaBrec said. The group might have have been trying to take advantage of the New Year celebrations, thinking U.S. authorities' attention was diverted, but the Coast Guard was actually on a higher state of alert, he said.

"We've seen an increase in smuggling activity over the holidays. There's a perception that it's easier at this time, but that's false."

It was not yet known how long the group had been at sea aboard the overcrowded boat. The journey from Haiti usually takes three to five days.

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