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Boat Discovered Drifting Near Turks and Caicos With 20 Dead People Aboard

Officials say it did not appear to be from the Caribbean.

Turks and Caicos officials said Sunday they had discovered a boat drifting with 20 dead people aboard a mile from Grand Turk Island, the Associated Press reported. Among the dead were two children. Fisherman saw the boat adrift Thursday morning and alerted the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. Officials have been working to identify the bodies of those on board and how they died since the boat was towed ashore. Foul play has been ruled out, and the police commissioner said the boat was likely from outside the Caribbean and not headed for the Turks and Caicos. In June 2020, Srikajamukam Chelliah, a Canadian citizen born in Sri Lanka, pleaded guilty after facing human trafficking charges for attempting to lead a boat to the U.S. with more than 100 people. He was extradited to a Florida prison where he will spend more than a year.