Bodies found on a boat in Pará are from African countries, says PF

The PF (Federal Police) identified this Tuesday (April 16, 2024) 9 bodies in the vessel found adrift off the coast of Pará, in the Bragança region, on Saturday (April 13). The initial examination, carried out in conjunction with the Scientific Police of Pará, indicates that the documents and objects found next to the bodies were those of migrants from the African continent, the Mauritania region and Mali. However, it is possible that the victims were of other nationalities.

The examination to identify the bodies began on Monday (April 15), after the vessel was taken to dry land. According to the PF, 8 bodies were inside the vessel and the 9th body was close to it, “in circumstances that suggested they were part of the same group of victims”.

The vessel was found by fishermen from Pará, with some decomposing bodies, in a river located in the Salgado region, in the northeast of Pará.

The search and rescue work for the vessel with the victims, carried out on Sunday (14 April), took place from 7 am to 11:30 pm.

Identification

To find out who the victims are, the PF works with the Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization, in Portuguese) disaster victim identification protocols. The protocol allows identification even in an advanced state of decomposition, through the use of DNA samples, fingerprints, physical characteristics, dental records and recognition of personal objects.

“In addition to identity, the forensic work will aim to verify the origin of the passengers, the cause and the estimated time of death”, informed the police.

A Navy vessel and a boat from the Bragança military firefighters, Municipal Guard, Municipal Civil Defense, Scientific Police of Pará and the Municipal Department of Urban Mobility and Traffic of Bragança participated in the rescue actions.

With information from Agência Brasil.