According to authorities’ recent report, twenty presumed Haitian migrants were discovered dead aboard a boat in northern Brazil, with symptoms of starvation and advanced decomposition on their corpses.
According to a federal police spokeswoman, fishermen discovered the boat close to the town of Braganca, which is in the state of Para on Brazil’s northern coast, and notified the authorities.
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“According to civil police and forensics experts, there were 20 bodies. The federal police chief for Braganca, Alexandre Calvinho, said they were believed to be Haitian refugees,” police noted in a recent interview.
“However, further investigation is needed to confirm the cause of death and the victims’ identities.”
It stated that forensic specialists would also need to verify the precise count of casualties.
To retrieve the remains, detectives want to pull the boat to Vila Tamatateua, a settlement.
It is thought that the victims’ deaths were caused by starvation and dehydration, but more investigation is needed. Police added that the inquiry is still underway.
According to a statement from the federal prosecutors’ office, the situation is now the subject of both criminal and civil investigations.
A secluded beach on the Atlantic Ocean between the villages of Braganca and Quatipuru is where a fisherman discovered the small boat early on Saturday, according to accounts from the local media.
It is approximately 2,000 miles, or 3,500 kilometers, from Haiti to the location.
The fisherman was seen in a video that the news site G1 released, showing a wooden boat lying in shallow water with fading blue paint.
“That’s a lot of dead bodies,” In the video, a male can be heard stating.
A growing humanitarian and security catastrophe is engulfing Haiti.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned as a result of strong gangs banding together to conduct a planned onslaught across the Caribbean Island since the end of February. The gangs attacked police stations, jails, and the airport.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations migration body, stated this month that the circumstances are causing a departure from the nation.
More than 360,000 individuals are internally displaced in Haiti, including “many multiple times over,” according to the report.
According to the IOM, some 13,000 Haitian migrants were forced to return home by neighboring nations in March.
“For most Haitians, the prospect of regular migration remains an insurmountable hurdle, leaving irregular migration as their only semblance of hope,” it said.
The UN refugee agency reported that 161,000 Haitians were anticipated to be residing in Brazil last year, making it the most economically developed country in Latin America. Haitian migrants have been frequenting Brazil in recent years.
