Last Updated on January 30, 2025, 1:45 PM AST by Anthony Morris
The St Kitts and Nevis Defense Coast Guard found a boat with 19 deceased and unidentified bodies of individuals, drifting off the coast of Nevis, after responding to a report about a drifting boat shortly before midday, on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
According to the authorities, the Coast Guard states that they have no idea regarding the origin or about the presence of the boat and that the vessel was towed to St Kitts for further investigation.
The details regarding the investigation remain unclear, except the fact that the boat was found in the waters surrounding the Federation.
The Initial Investigation
Sharing some details about the ongoing investigation, Deputy Police Commissioner, Cromwell Henry said that the boat had a very foul smell as the bodies found were severely decomposed, due to which, identifying the genders of the body is getting completed and difficult.
Furthermore, some documents were also found on the boat, with the bodies, suggesting that the unidentified individuals may be from Mali, South Africa.
It is to be noted that the police reports first mentioned the discovery of only 12 bodies, but later released a statement that 7 more decomposed bodies were found in the other parts of the boat.
The Authorities stated that the investigation is still ongoing and no connection between the bodies found in St Kitts and Nevis and those found in Trinidad last weekend has been found till now.
Caribbean region sees second such incident during this week
Similar reports from Trinidad were also received this week, marking the second such incident in recent weeks in the Caribbean region.
A fishing boat containing several decomposing bodies was found near Trinidad’s southeast coast in the Atlantic Ocean by a few oil workers on Saturday.
Five decomposed bodies were found in the boat which was surrounded by a strong odour and showed signs of decay. The police suspected that the boat might have been adrift for several weeks.
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.
