Nine corpses found on migrant boat that drifted from African coast to Brazil

Earlier this month, fishermen in Brazil’s coastal state of Pará made a grim discovery: a small boat adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, in which lay several dead bodies. The boat was likely destined for Spain’s Canary Islands – a perilous migration route that soaring numbers of Africans are risking to try to reach Europe. Instead, the boat drifted 4,200km to the other side of the Atlantic. Documentation found onboard and the type of vessel – a typical Mauritarian “pirogue” – indicated that those on board were from Mauritania and Mali. Nine bodies were recovered, but based on the number of raincoats found inside the vessel, Brazilian officials believe the boat may have been carrying at least 25 people. The boat is not the first to have drifted devastatingly off course en route to Europe. An Associated Press investigation revealed that in 2021 at least seven “ghost boats” from northwest Africa were found in Brazil and the Caribbean, all carrying dead bodies.