Authorities in northeastern Venezuela have discovered the bodies of 14 African migrants on a river that connects to the Atlantic Ocean, Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello said.

The decomposing bodies were found on a boat in the northeastern state of Delta Amacuro, according to media reports.

“There were 14 human bodies, all from Africa,” Cabello said late Wednesday, adding that some were from Mali and that the victims died of dehydration and hunger.

“They came from Africa,” the minister added. “The current would have carried them away, we don’t know.”

In late May, authorities in the Caribbean island country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines found 11 bodies on a boat. The victims had Malian passports. (AFP)

•An illustrative image of migrant boats along a South American coastline. Authorities in Venezuela confirmed the discovery of 14 African migrants’ bodies.