Spanish authorities launched an investigation after discovering multiple corpses in the Mediterranean Sea with their hands and feet tied, police said on Monday.
According to the regional newspaper Diario de Mallorca, since mid-May, Civil Guard boats have discovered at least five bodies with their feet and hands bound. According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, police suspect the victims to be North African migrants.
According to Diario de Mallorca, investigators believe the migrants were tied up and thrown into the sea during the crossing, possibly as a result of a dispute with their smuggler.
A Civil Guard spokeswoman told AFP that the investigation into the suspected homicide aims to identify the victims and determine the causes of their deaths.
The discovery reveals “the cruellest side” of the irregular migration route, regional president Marga Prohens told local media.
Although the Canary Islands in the Atlantic receive the majority of the tens of thousands of migrants bound for Europe, hundreds attempt the shorter crossing from North Africa to the Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean.
Authorities said 31 bodies were discovered in the archipelago’s waters and beaches between January and June of this year, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported earlier this month.
In 2023, the United Nations International Organisation for Migration recorded 8,542 migrant deaths worldwide, with the Mediterranean accounting for 37% of these deaths.
There have also been dramatic rescues in the area. According to the Spain-based NGO Open Arms, a charity ship rescued more than 50 migrants from an abandoned oil platform in the Mediterranean earlier this month, including one woman who gave birth.
In January, the Spanish coastguard rescued a baby born aboard an inflatable vessel transporting migrants to the Canary Islands.
