Last Updated on January 31, 2025, 12:57 PM AST by Anthony Morris
Authorities of St Kitts and Nevis found Mali Passports on the boat that was discovered by the St Kitts and Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF) Coast Guard on January 29th, 2025, after receiving a report of a vessel drifting southwest of Nevis between 11 am and 12 pm, which contained 19 decomposed and unidentified bodies.
The passports reveal that some individuals may have been from Mali, West Africa, with police and forensic teams trying to find the identities of the dead individuals while trying to establish a timeline and reason behind the death of 19 individuals.
According to the reports, the reason still remains unclear. However, the St Kitts and Nevis investigative authorities might collaborate with the Mali police to solve this case and reveal if this was a planned murder, scenario of human trafficking and foul play.
Moreover, the crime scene is still being investigated by the Crime Scene Unit with some items of evidential value being collected. The investigation is still ongoing and the authorities continue to examine the bodies to find their identities.
The Initial Investigation
The St Kitts and Nevis Defence Coast Guard found a boat with 19 unidentified bodies on Wednesday, drifting off the coast of Nevis.
The initial investigation stated that the boat contained 13 bodies, but after careful rechecking, 6 more bodies were found in different parts of the boat.
The boat was surrounded with a foul order and the bodies were so severely decayed that even the genders of the bodies are hard to identify.
Furthermore, the Authorities are also investigating to find a connection of this case with the one in Trinidad, where a boat with five decomposed bodies were found by some oil workers in the Atlantic Ocean, near the southeast coast of Trinidad on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
