Grim Discovery Sparks Homicide Probe In Spain’s Mediterranean Waters

Spanish authorities have launched a chilling homicide investigation after several corpses were discovered floating in the Mediterranean Sea—hands and feet bound—suggesting a possible mass killing linked to migrant smuggling routes.

According to reports by Diario de Mallorca, since mid-May, Spain’s Civil Guard patrol boats have found at least five bodies in the waters around the Balearic Islands, each showing signs of being deliberately restrained. Investigators suspect the victims were migrants from North Africa, potentially thrown overboard during a dispute with human traffickers.

The Majorca Daily Bulletin noted that the grisly nature of the discovery indicates more than just accidental deaths at sea. “This shows the cruelest side of irregular migration,” said Balearic regional president Marga Prohens.

A Civil Guard spokesperson told AFP that authorities are working to identify the victims and determine the exact circumstances of their deaths. While most migrants reaching Spain cross the Atlantic to the Canary Islands, many attempt the shorter, but still dangerous, route across the Mediterranean to the Balearics.

Earlier this month, officials confirmed that a total of 31 bodies have been recovered from the waters and shores of the archipelago between January and June 2025 alone.

The discovery adds to growing concerns about the deadly risks of irregular migration. In 2023, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration recorded 8,542 migrant deaths worldwide—37% of them in the Mediterranean Sea.