THE bodies of nine migrants found on an African boat off the northern coast of Brazil’s Amazon region have been laid to rest at a solemn ceremony.

People fishing off the coast of Para state found the boat adrift on April 13, carrying the already decomposing bodies of adults or teenagers.

Brazilian officials said later that documents found in the vessel indicated that the victims were migrants from Mali and Mauritania and that the boat had left the latter country after January 17.

Two documents were discovered — an identity card from Mauritania and a register of entering that country belonging to someone from Mali.

The deceased were buried in the state capital Belem on Thursday at a secular ceremony organised by the United Nations refugee agency, the Red Cross and the International Organisation for Migration, as well as the Brazilian authorities.

Their 39-foot boat was carrying 25 raincoats and 27 mobile phones, suggesting that the original number of passengers was much higher and that people of other nationalities may have been among them.

When found, the blue-and-white fiberglass boat had neither motor, tiller nor rudder. Its canoe shape is similar to Mauritanian fishing boats often used by migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands.