Brazilian authorities bury deceased migrants who drifted in African boat to the Amazon
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — The bodies of nine migrants found on an African boat off the northern coast of Brazil’s Amazon region were buried Thursday with a solemn ceremony in the Para state capital of Belem.
Fishermen off the coast of Para found the boat adrift on April 13, carrying the bodies that were already decomposing. Brazilian officials later said documents found in the vessel indicated the victims were migrants from Mali and Mauritania, and that the boat had departed the latter country after Jan. 17.
The deceased were buried in a secular ceremony organized by a number of groups involved in their recovery, such as the U.N. Refugee Agency, the Red Cross and the International Organization for Migration, as well as Brazilian police, navy and civil defense agencies.
A tropical rain fell as their coffins were lowered into graves dug into the earth and those present watched in respectful silence.