SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s federal prosecutor’s office and the federal police in Para state said on Saturday they would open investigations following a report of a boat found with decomposed bodies off the coast of Brazil’s northern state.
Federal police say experts and forensic teams have been deployed to the remote area.
“One of the main objectives is to find out who the people on the boat were, using the protocols for identifying victims of the disaster,” the note reads.
The number, nationality and cause of death of the victims are not yet known, the federal police confirmed.
Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office said some local reports in Para claimed there could be up to 20 bodies on the boat and that they were Haitian migrants. Reuters was unable to independently verify this information.
The boat was found by fishermen in an area known as Barra do Quatipuru, near Ajuruteua beach in Braganca, in the north-east of the state.
Videos have been circulating on social media showing fishermen discovering the drifting boat.
Local police and the government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.