St Kitts and Nevis: Coast Guard finds boat with 19 decomposed bodies off Nevis, links to Mali suspected

St Kitts and Nevis: The Coast Guards discovered a boat adrift off the coast of Nevis, containing around 19 decomposed bodies on Wednesday. As per the reports, the identification documents found on the vessel suggests that the deceased may be from Mali, West Africa. 

However, the identities of the individuals have not yet been determined, nor have the circumstances which led to their deaths. Upon receiving the information about the vessel containing multiple deceased individuals of unknown identities, the St Kitts and Nevis Coast Guards responded immediately to the matter. They successfully tucked a towline to the vessel and took it back to St Kitts, where they launched an investigation into the matter. 

The police officials of St Kitts and Nevis have also shed light on the incident, noting that they are committed to determining the reason of such discovery. They further mentioned about the identities of the bodies and added that they were too decomposed to determine their gender.

Police officials to conduct forensic examination 

Shedding light on the discovery, the authorities have not speculated about out human trafficking, illegal migration, or foul play yet. However, they have assured to conduct forensic examinations, aiming to determine the cause of death and attempt to identify the victims. They have also ensured to closely monitor the situation in order to provide further updates to the citizens. 

Along with that, they added that such kind of discoveries raise concerns about maritime safety. Therefore, they have ensured to take preventive measures, aiming to conducting operations at sea in order to enhance maritime security enforcement. 

Same incident held in Trinidad and Tobago 

This is the same incident that occurred in Trinidad and Tobago as well, when the authorities found five decomposed bodies during a recovery operation aboard the ship. The vessel was spotted near the Casia C Platform located approximately 57 km off the southeastern coast of Trinidad.

No further information has been reported regarding the matter; however, the authorities are conducting an investigation, aiming to determine the reason behind such discoveries.