Cruise ship company releases statement after five dead bodies found in the water during voyage

A cruise ship company has released a statement following the grim discovery of five dead bodies in the water, while the ship was at sea. The Sapphire Princess cruise ship departed from Cagliari, in Italy, on Monday last week, and while on its way to Spain made the discovery.

According to reports, at first passengers on board were made aware that one body had been found in the water, but it was later confirmed to have in fact been five. The company told PEOPLE that crew members spotted “an orange inflatable lifejacket in the water” so the ship changed path to investigate what it was.

“Five deceased individuals were recovered by the Sapphire Princess crew members and coordinated efforts with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC),” a statement said. The identities of the bodies are not yet known, but the company confirmed they are not crew or passengers from the ship.

The recovery mission took three hours. “It was very sad to watch. I was shaking inside,” a passenger told The Express US. “The crew were very good at keeping everyone calm, but everyone was shocked. From what I saw I think they were migrants. The crew treated them with respect and we were all offered counselling.”

@la.stampa

Tragedia in navigazione. La Sapphire Princess, nave da crociera con oltre tremila persone a bordo, ha recuperato cinque corpi senza vita durante una missione di circa tre ore nel Mediterraneo occidentale, tra le coste della Spagna e del Nordafrica. L’equipaggio ha cambiato rotta dopo l’avvistamento di un giubbotto salvagente galleggiante e ha avviato le operazioni con una lancia veloce, in coordinamento con i soccorsi marittimi. Secondo alcune testimonianze raccolte a bordo, le vittime potrebbero essere migranti. La compagnia ha espresso cordoglio e ringraziato il personale per il rapido intervento. #mediterraneo

♬ suono originale – la.stampa – la.stampa

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A video from the cruise ship at the time has been posted by a local news outlet, and shows the captain initially relaying the news that one body had been found. “Unfortunately, when our crew arrived, they found a deceased person in the water,” he said. “We notified the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center and they advised that we stay in the area to assist. As we searched further, we found four more deceased individuals in the water.”

It’s been reported that Spain’s National Police are now investigating the incident. The police force is looking into a possible connection between this discovery and a small boat that was found adrift 25 miles off Cartagena earlier in the week.

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