image Hulan Hanna - Assistant Commissioner of Police. Photo: caribbean360

They initially found six bodies, including that of a child, on a beach at Holmes Rock. Shortly after, two more bodies were discovered near a sunken boat, half-a-mile from shore.

According to the police, it’s believed that all eight were illegal immigrants who were trying to make their way to the United States.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Hulan Hanna said further checks were carried out along the shoreline and at sea to ensure that there were no other bodies.

“We got the assistance of the Americans and they took us about a half mile from the shore, and we were able to see a boat submerged in the water. Outside of the boat, two bodies were seen on the floor of the sea.”

He said assistance was being sought to refloat the boat as additional bodies could be inside.

“We are hoping that our regional and international connections will help us determine who these people are”

Hanna appealed to the public to contact the police if they knew anyone, particularly from the area, who has been missing.

He said the identities of the victims were not known and added that autopsies would be performed to determine the cause of death.

“We don’t know the nationalities of the victims definitively, but again, the enormity of what we met here cannot be emphasized enough….please for God’s sake and listen to us and do not do it to put your life at risk and the greater tragedy is the fact there is a child who has no more chance at life because somebody took a decision to have the child accompany them to this ill-fated journey,” Hanna said.