Seven Ecuadorians have died and two remain missing after a boat carrying them towards the United States sank in the Pacific Ocean.

The victims were thought to be heading to the United States, possibly via Guatemala. Their bodies washed up on Santa Rosa beach in Ecuador.

The incident is the latest in a tragic series of drownings that have occurred when boats overcrowded with migrants are caught in storms at sea.

The beach where the victims’ bodies were found (photo: Manta online).

Last August 94 Ecuadorians died when the boat they were travelling in – built to carry just 15 people – was shipwrecked.

“People who can’t obtain a visa pay people who promise to organise them a boat,” explains Monica Rivadenera, who works with the Centre for the Working Girl (CENIT).

“But these people use boats in poor condition so many migrants never arrive. It’s a crooked business but very lucrative for the people who take thousands of dollars from the migrants.”

Reports state that individuals pay up to $3,000 to undertake these highly risky journeys – equivalent to 10 months salary of a household in the region CENIT operates.

The traffickers, known as ‘coyotes’, have seized the opportunity to make their fortune from the rising number of Ecuadorians attempting to leave their poverty behind.

“In the airports you see crowds of people,” adds Monica. “People are desperate to leave for other countries, to live and find work.”