It was a fishing vessel, which is not typically found in the Caribbean,” Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Commissioner James Sutton told The Associated Press.

A vessel drifting in the Caribbean Sea contained 19 badly decomposed bodies, at least some from Mali, authorities in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis announced on Wednesday.

At least 19 people were found dead on a boat in the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday morning, authorities said. The aimless vessel was located near the eastern Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis around 11:30 a.m., the St. Kitts and Nevis Coast Guard said. It was spotted near the smaller, southeastern island of Nevis in the two-island nation.

Authorities in the eastern Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis are investigating the circumstances that led to the discovery of at least 19 bodies found drifting at sea.

Authorities in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis are investigating the deaths of 19 people who were found aboard a drifting vessel.