French authorities in Guadeloupe have opened an investigation into the accident at
sea that is believed to have resulted in the loss of sixteen lives, when a vessel
registered in that island sank just north of St Kitts.
News reports from Guadeloupe state that the Public Prosecutor of Pointe-a-Pitre
has opened the investigation into the incident that caused the death of three
persons, and the disappearance of thirteen others.
A boat registered in Guadeloupe capsized on Tuesday off the coast of Saint
Kitts and Nevis, islands located north of the Guadeloupe archipelago. The
circumstances of the accident are still poorly determined, but the capsize caused
the death of three people and the disappearance of 13 others," according to a
provisional report, said prosecutor Patrick Desjardins in a press release.
Mr. Desjardins has opened an investigation for manslaughter by deliberate breach
of a security obligation, involuntary injuries by deliberate breach of a security
obligation, trafficking in human beings in an organized gang, he said on
Wednesday.
“The identity of the victims, who are not French-speaking, and their nationalities
could not at this time be determined with certainty,” the same source said.
The boat, whose “owner is a French national, residing in Guadeloupe,” carried “32
passengers,” indicates the press release from the prosecution. The investigation
was jointly entrusted to the research section of the Guadeloupe gendarmerie and
the maritime gendarmerie.
The Martinique branch of CROSS Antilles-Guyane has been actively involved
since Tuesday, in search operations jointly with the authorities of Saint-Kitts and
Nevis. A French ship is engaged in the area and on Wednesday, a Dutch coast
guard plane flew over the area.
The two cruise ships which were on Tuesday diverted to take part in the rescue of
the shipwreck have left the area, said the prefecture of Martinique.
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, had expressed on
social media on Tuesday, “his deep sorrow at the loss of life and the distress
suffered by those aboard a vessel, which illegally left Antigua -and-Barbuda on
Tuesday, March 28 for an unknown destination, which capsized on the high seas.”
