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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, CMC – Forensic authorities in the Dominican Republic are trying to identify the remains of at least 14 mostly decomposed bodies found on an abandoned vessel just 10 nautical miles from its northern coast.
The Dominican Republic Navy said based on documentation found next to the bodies, the 14 skeletons appeared to belong to individuals from Senegal and Mauritania.
The authorities are also working to determine the cause and time of the deaths and whether 12 packages of a substance found on the boat contained illicit drugs, presumably cocaine or heroin.
Cell phones and geolocation devices were also found on the boat.
It’s believed that the vessel was en route from West Africa to Europe.
That route is one of the most dangerous in the world and boats that miss their destination can be swept away by Atlantic trade winds and currents from east to west, drifting for months.
Migrants aboard often die of dehydration and malnutrition.
The bodies are being analysed by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) in Santiago, the country’s second-largest city and near where the discovery was made.
