Authorities reported a grim discovery on Wednesday morning, January 29, where they found at least 19 people dead on a partially submerged boat near the eastern Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The vessel was discovered by the St. Kitts and Nevis Coast Guard at approximately 11:30 a.m. near the southeastern island of Nevis.
“It was a fishing vessel, which is not typically found in the Caribbean,” said Police Commissioner James Sutton in an interview with The Associated Press. “We are not certain, but we believe that this vessel originated off the West African coast.”
Due to the advanced state of decomposition, it has been challenging to determine the exact number of people who were on board or to identify them. Investigations by police and medical officials are underway after the vessel was towed to St. Kitts.
This is the first discovery of this kind in recent history for the twin-island nation, which is located approximately 1,200 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. However, similar occurrences have been recorded in Caribbean waters in recent years, suggesting a pattern of boats originating from West Africa.
The current investigation, spearheaded by the St. Kitts and Nevis Coast Guard, is trying to uncover the vessel’s origins and the circumstances surrounding this grim discovery. Medical officials are striving to gather more information about the deceased, but the decomposition has significantly hindered identification efforts.
Previously, in August 2024, authorities in the Dominican Republic found a boat carrying the remains of 14 individuals, believed to be from Senegal and Mauritania. During the investigation, officials discovered 29 cell phones and a backpack with 12 packages of suspected illegal substances on the vessel.
During the investigation, several of the 14 victims were identified as originating from Mali, West Africa. Authorities noted that the powerful westerly currents and winds of the Atlantic Ocean can significantly divert vessels off their intended course.
Last week, a related discovery was made by authorities in Trinidad when they found a pirogue with the remains of five individuals near the coast. The boat sank during attempts to tow it to Trinidad.
In May 2021, a similar vessel was found off the coast of Tobago, having drifted from West Africa carrying migrants. The St. Vincent Times reported that often the bodies are too decomposed to determine gender, further complicating identification efforts.
These maritime incidents are not limited to the Caribbean region. In June 2024, a boat disaster off the coast of Djibouti resulted in 196 deaths along the Eastern Route sea crossing. More recently, at least 45 people died and 111 were reported missing after two boats carrying migrants sank off the Djibouti coast.
The International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded that at least 1,860 lives have been lost on maritime routes from the Horn of Africa to Yemen since 2014. Despite the known risks, over 97,200 migrant arrivals were observed in 2023.
Birane Mbaye from Senegal, a survivor of a similar journey, narrated the hazards of these sea crossings. Mbaye was among 101 individuals who attempted to reach the Canary Islands in 2023. The boat ran out of fuel and drifted for weeks, causing multiple deaths due to thirst and starvation. After 35 days at sea, only 38 people survived, rescued by a Spanish fishing boat.
