Authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis have launched an investigation after a vessel carrying 19 deceased individuals was discovered drifting off the coast of Nevis on Wednesday.
The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force reported that the Coast Guard responded to a call about an abandoned boat shortly before midday. Upon arrival, officers found multiple bodies on board in an advanced state of decomposition, making immediate identification difficult.
Initially, police confirmed 12 bodies, but a later update revised the total to 19.
Identification documents found on the vessel suggest that the deceased may be from Mali, West Africa.
The boat has since been towed to St. Kitts, where forensic experts from the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit will conduct further examinations.
Authorities have given the assurance that further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.
This grim discovery in the Federation comes just days after a similar incident in Trinidad and Tobago, where a pirogue containing five decomposed bodies was found. During a recovery operation early Sunday morning, the vessel slipped from a towline and is now presumed to have sunk.
Lieutenant Khadija Lamy, Public Relations Officer for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, noted that the boat’s construction closely resembled another vessel found in May 2021 off the coast of Tobago, which had been linked to African migrants.
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