A pie containing five people and five bodies washed ashore this Sunday on the island of Sao Vicente, Cape Verde, authorities said.
This case is similar to others involving ships that were left adrift in the Atlantic Ocean after leaving the African continent with the goal of reaching the European space in the Spanish Canary Archipelago, but without adequate means.
“Right now we have five people receiving treatment and five dead bodies in the hospital,” said Vitoria Verissimo, regional head of the National Civil Protection Service.
According to some personal documents, the ship carried passengers from at least three countries: Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.
“There is still no certainty about the origin of the pirogues,” said Vitoria Verissimo, adding that they were all men and “apparently young.”
The Joint Rescue Coordination Center of the Cape Verdean Coast Guard has already received information from Senegal about vessels of this type that were spotted a few days earlier.
This Sunday, the Cape Verde National Police called firefighters at 9:30 a.m. (10:30 a.m. in Lisbon) to the area of Calhau, on the east coast of the island of São Vicente, where the alarm was raised on a ship.
Authorities are searching the surrounding area in case there are other occupants.
The ongoing work involves the National Police, members of the Armed Forces, members of the Red Cross and members of the Judicial Police (JP).
In the meantime, the bodies were taken to the morgue of the Baptista de Souza Hospital in Mindelo so that the judicial panel could carry out the necessary steps for identification.
The Cape Verde archipelago has at times become a destination for drift ships, with people risking their lives on precarious boats on the high seas to reach Europe, escaping poverty and violence.
Three more cases have been reported in the last 16 months.
In November 2022, a boat carrying 66 Senegalese immigrants washed ashore on the island of Sal.
In January 2023, a pirogue arrived on the island of Boa Vista with 90 African migrants on board, two of them died.
A boat carrying 101 people, which left Senegal in July 2023, was found adrift off the island of Sal, Cape Verde, in August, with 38 survivors treated and repatriated.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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