Santo Domingo Dominican Republic — Forensic authorities in the Dominican Republic worked Wednesday to identify the remains of at least 14 mostly decomposed bodies found in an abandoned boat 10 nautical miles off its northern coast.
The Dominican Republic Navy said the 14 skeletons appeared to belong to individuals from Senegal and Mauritania, based on documentation found with the bodies.
Authorities are also working to determine the cause and timing of the deaths and whether the 12 packages of a substance found on the boat contained illicit drugs, presumably cocaine or heroin.
Mobile phones and geolocation devices were also found on the ship, the Navy said.
The Atlantic route from West Africa to the territory of the European Union is one of the most dangerous in the world. Ships that miss their destination can be carried by the trade winds and Atlantic currents from east to west, drifting for months. Migrants on board often die of dehydration and malnutrition. Others have also been known to jump into the ocean out of desperation.
A Associated Press Research published last year revealed that at least seven ships from northwest Africa had been found in the Caribbean in 2021 and Brazilall carrying corpses.
The bodies found Tuesday in the Dominican Republic are being analyzed by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) in Santiago, the country’s second city and near where the discovery was made, said Nairobi Viloria, spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office.
Meanwhile, the substance found next to the bodies is being analyzed in laboratories operated by the country’s anti-drug agency, said Carlos Devers, spokesman for the National Drug Control Directorate.
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