The La Belle Michelle sunk on its way to St Thomas with 30 Cameroonians and two Antiguans
An investigation has been launched in Pointe-a-Pitre Guadeloupe by the Director of Public Prosecution after the sinking of a boat registered in Guadeloupe.
The La Belle Michelle, a fishing vessel from the French neighboring island capsized off the coast of St Kitts and Nevis carrying African migrants, which caused the death of three people and the disappearance of 13 others.
French Prosecutor Patrick Desjardins in a statement said the “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”.
Mr. Desjardins has launched an investigation for “manslaughter by a deliberate breach of a security obligation, involuntary injuries by a deliberate breach of a security obligation, trafficking in human beings in an organized gang”, according to the report.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the survivors nor those who perished.
The owner of the boat however is said to be assisting police with investigations into the matter. The man is believed to be a French national living in Guadeloupe/
“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 investigation was jointly entrusted to the research section of the Guadeloupe gendarmerie and the maritime gendarmerie.
I don’t know why the authorities not releasing the names of the two Antiguans. Maybe, just maybe releasing their names will speed up the investigation. And for the passengers on the boat, their families are waiting to know if their loved ones are alive or dead. I never heard of a boat capsizing and names staying this long to release to the public. What are the authorities hiding from the public, especially the Antigua public??
Guadeloupe cannot investigate a human Trafficking case when there was no human Trafficking.
Here waiting on the out come
French is mandatory in Cameroon, the idea that they do not speak some form of French is inaccurate.