Eight corpses found on boat offshore Antigua

By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda – AROUND 6:25 a.m. yesterday, a Coast Guard Unit of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force found an unmarked vessel carrying eight badly scorched bodies drifting out at sea in the Falmouth Harbour area.

According to the Antigua Sun, the police were subsequently alerted and the vessel was removed from the sea for investigations to be conducted.

“The bodies which seemed to be badly scorched by the sun could be seen in the open boat partly submerged in a pool of water within the wooden hull and covered in a mass of floating raincoats. The men were all pronounced dead on the scene by a local doctor,” the Antigua Sun said.

It added that the police removed clothing and travel documents which bore the “The Republic of Mali”, one of the world’s poorest nations. It has been noted that there has been many cases of illegal immigration from the West African country into the Caribbean and many have died on the way.

The media house referred to a police press release, which stated that they were unable to determine the country of origin of the individuals discovered, but are assuring the public that every effort is being made to uncover the reason for the vessel ending up in Antigua’s waters, the cause of death and identity of the bodies on board.