A cruise ship pulled five dead bodies from the water while taking passengers to Spain.
The Sapphire Princess, a Princess Cruises vessel, was on the way to Cartagena when it spotted “an orange inflatable lifejacket in the water” on April 21, according to a statement from the company provided to USA Today.
The ship deployed a Fast Rescue Boat to investigate the scene.
“Five deceased individuals were recovered by the Sapphire Princess crew members and coordinated efforts with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center,” Princess Cruises told USA Today.
The company confirmed that the individuals were not employees of the ship or its passengers.
The Sapphire Princess made the discovery over 60 miles southwest of Formentera, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean.
Cruise passengers are left ‘shaking’ as crew pull bodies of five migrants out of the sea after the ship spotted a life-jacket and diverted during Med voyage https://t.co/dOktsU5088
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) April 23, 2026
Spain’s Maritime Safety and Rescue Society told USA Today in a statement that they “extend our sincere condolences for this loss and are grateful to our crew for their swift response and efforts to render assistance.”
The officials had a theory about the identity of those who lost their lives.
“The victims may have been migrants from a small boat and it is believed they may have been in the water for several days,” the statement added.
If the deceased were indeed migrants trying to enter Europe, it would not be the first time a cruise ship encountered a band of migrants, whether dead or alive.
In October, passengers on the MSC Splendida cruise ship recorded crew members rescuing 19 migrants near Mallorca, Spain.
The group of migrants, which included two children, used a loose rope to enter the ship, according to People magazine.
A passenger on the vessel said on social media that “these people probably in the sea for days, were looking for a future escaping their hostile country.”
“Luckily we were there. Not many are as lucky. Thanks to the professionals on MSC Splendida they are safe now,” the user added.
The operation took around 30 minutes and occurred roughly 20 nautical miles south of Spain’s Cabrera Archipelago.
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