The Federal Police were able to determine the victims’ origin thanks to their documentation and belongings, and are now trying to identify the bodies

Nine decomposed bodies were found Saturday on a boat that drifted to the coast of Brazil. On Tuesday, Brazil’s Federal Police reported in a statement that signs indicate that “the victims were migrants from the African continent, from the region of Mauritania and Mali.”

The boat was located by fishermen off the coast of the Brazilian state of Pará, on the other side of the Atlantic, 2,600 miles from the Mauritanian coast. After towing the boat ashore to the municipality of Bragança, Brazilian police officers inspected it on Monday and, thanks to the documentation and belongings found with the bodies, were able to identify its origin.

It is likely that the boat is one of the many that make the dangerous journey to Europe. Many set sail from Mauritania towards Spain’s Canary Islands, where there has been a surge in migrant boats. So far this year, more than 14,000 African migrants have arrived in the Spanish archipelago via this route — six times more than in the same period in 2023.