The Civil Guard has recovered the bodies of four individuals in an advanced state of decomposition 19 miles from Portocolom. All indications suggest they are migrants who died during the crossing in a dinghy.
The Civil Guard recovered the lifeless bodies of four people floating in the waters of Portocolom yesterday afternoon, in the municipality of Felanitx. The bodies, in an advanced state of decomposition, were spotted by a Salvamento Marítimo vessel that was heading to assist a dinghy.
The events occurred around three in the afternoon when the crew of Salvamento Marítimo spotted the bodies floating very close to each other 19 miles off the coast of Portocolom. They immediately alerted the Civil Guard, which dispatched a boat from the Special Group of Underwater Activities (GEAS) to the location.
The GEAS divers recovered the four bodies and transferred them to a Maritime Service vessel, which took them to the port of Palma. There, a judicial commission examined them before they were taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine, where autopsies will be performed and DNA samples will be taken in an attempt to identify them.
The advanced state of decomposition of the bodies indicates they had been at sea for several days. Authorities suspect they are occupants of a dinghy that may have capsized during the crossing between the African coasts and Mallorca.
This discovery comes on a day when two dinghies were detected arriving at the coasts of Mallorca, according to the Government Delegation. The first was intercepted shortly after eleven in the morning near Colònia de Sant Jordi, with eight individuals of Maghreb origin on board. The second, around noon, 32 miles southeast of Mallorca, with three occupants rescued. Both operations involved Salvamento Marítimo and the Civil Guard.
Yesterday's tragedy highlights the dangers of the migratory route to the Balearic Islands, which has seen an increase in dinghy arrivals in recent years. The autopsies and DNA tests will be crucial in determining the victims' identities and clarifying the circumstances of the incident.
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