BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) — Police say a boat with 13 dead bodies on board was discovered off the coast of Nevis on Wednesday.

They said that the St Kitts and Nevis Defense Coast Guard, responding to a report of a drifting boat off the coast, made the gruesome discovery just after midday, local time.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cromwell Henry, said that the bodies were severely decomposed and it is not known whether there were children among the dead.

The boat has been towed back to St Kitts as the investigations continue and the authorities say crime scene investigators are still at the scene.

Police say that it is still too early to determine whether or not there is a connection between the boat and dead bodies found and a similar discovery off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago last weekend.

The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) said that a pirogue carrying the decomposing remains of five unidentified individuals sunk while being towed to Trinidad.

While the circumstances surrounding the vessel remain unclear, including the cause of death of those on board, the TTCG said the pirogue bore a “striking resemblance” to a boat discovered off the coast of Tobago in May 2021, which reportedly drifted from West Africa with migrants on board.