Overview
- The cruise ship Sapphire Princess recovered five bodies Monday after crew saw a drifting lifejacket about 150 km northwest of Algiers.
- Princess Cruises said none of the deceased were passengers or crew, with the remains transferred to Spanish authorities in Cartagena.
- A French naval vessel found a small drifting boat off Spain’s Murcia coast with three dead and two survivors, who were taken to Cartagena by Salvamento Marítimo for interviews.
- Survivors reported leaving North Africa and being at sea for up to three weeks, as Spain’s National Police examine whether the two discoveries are connected.
- The UN migration agency says roughly 500 people died or went missing and about 8,000 arrived irregularly on the western Mediterranean route last year.