Isabel Keane
The skeletons of 14 mostly decomposed bodies were found on an abandoned vessel off the coast of the Dominican Republic this week — leaving authorities scrambling to try and identify the remains.
Documentation found near the bodies, which were discovered by forensic authorities about 10 nautical miles off the coast of the Caribbean nation on Tuesday, indicates that the remains belong to people from Senegal and Mauritania, the Dominican Republic Navy said.
Authorities are now working to determine the cause — and time — of the deaths, and whether 12 packages of a mysterious substance found on the boat contained illicit drugs.
Officials also recovered cell phones and geolocation devices from the boat, the Navy said.
The bodies are being analyzed by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) in Santiago, not far from where the horrifying discovery was made, according to officials.
The substances found near the bodies are also being examined in laboratories operated by the country’s anti-drug agency to determine if they were illegal drugs like cocaine or heroin.
The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Dominican Republic is one of the most dangerous treks in the world, as boats that miss their destination can be swept away by powerful currents and left drifting for months.
Migrants aboard these ships often die of dehydration and malnutrition, while some even resort to jumping overboard into the ocean out of desperation.
At least seven boats from northwest Africa were found in the Caribbean and Brazil carrying dead bodies in 2021, according to an Associated Press investigation.
