BRAZILIAN police are investigating the grim discovery of a boat full of corpses, saying that the dead were likely African migrants from Mali and Mauritania.

Fishermen off Brazil’s northern coastal state of Para found the boat adrift Saturday in the Atlantic Ocean.

Brazil’s federal police said in a statement that it had recovered nine dead in total.

Documents and objects found near the bodies indicate that the victims were migrants from Africa, the statement said.

Police said that other nationalities could be among the deceased.

The boat is similar to Mauritanian fishing pirogues frequently used by West African migrants and refugees fleeing to Spain’s Canary Islands, suggesting Brazil was probably not their destination.

The Atlantic route from West Africa to the European Union territory is one of the most dangerous in the world, and strong currents can leave boats drifting for months.

Migrants aboard often die of dehydration and malnutrition. Others have also been known to jump into the ocean out of desperation.

In 2021, at least seven boats from north-west Africa had been found in the Caribbean and Brazil, all carrying dead bodies.

A 500 per cent spike in migration from the north-west coast of Africa to Spain this year has alarmed European authorities amid there attempts to crack down against people seeking refuge.

Despite a €210 million deal signed in February between the European Union and Mauritania, most departures have taken place from the West African nation.

While more than 13,000 migrants have reached the Canaries so far in 2024, hundreds of others have been reported missing, according to Spain’s interior ministry.

Brazilian federal police say they are still working to identify the bodies and the cause of death.

The bodies were found in an advanced state of decomposition.