Santo Domingo.-The remains of 14 people were found yesterday in a boat adrift 10 nautical miles off the coast of the Río San Juan municipality, María Trinidad Sánchez province, who are presumed to be from Senegal and Mauritania.
The discovery was made after fishermen spotted the boat and informed the authorities via a telephone call.
Inside the boat, whose origin has not been confirmed, several human remains can be seen, which were taken to land on Villa Magnate beach, in the Gaspar Hernández municipality.
Identity documents from Senegal and Mauritania, as well as several mobile phones, were also found.
At dusk, the Navy also reported the discovery on the boat of twelve packages of a substance that appears to be cocaine and perhaps also heroin, all of this in a backpack.
Earlier, he had issued a statement saying: “The relevant authorities are working diligently to clarify this case.
Some documents found in the travelers’ clothing.
The Dominican Navy reaffirms its commitment to maritime security and its collaboration with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation of this type of incident. More details will be provided as the investigation progresses,” the statement said.
Members of the Civil Defense and the Fire Department participated in the operation to recover the human remains.
Records
There are documented cases of boats adrift that have crossed the Atlantic, coming from Senegal, a country on the west coast of Africa, in a journey by dozens of migrants who boarded a boat on the African coast trying to reach the Canary Islands.
According to a BBC report in January, four such vessels have been found in the Caribbean in the past five years.
He adds that, according to data from the Caminando Fronteras group, 244 boats disappeared on that route from 2018 to 2022.
Those leaving from Senegal usually end up in the westernmost islands such as El Hierro or Tenerife. Meanwhile, those leaving from Morocco or Mauritania usually end up in Gran Canaria.
From January 1 to October 15, 2023, 23,537 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands by sea, which is 79.4 percent more than in the same period in 2022.
The political and social crisis in Senegal has led hundreds of Senegalese to take to the sea, according to the BBC.
Figures
— Deceased
In 2022, 1,784 people disappeared or died while trying to reach the Canary Islands, according to figures from Caminando Fronteras. The discovery of the human remains caused alarm among residents on the Dominican north coast.
