Overview

• At least five corpses with hands and feet bound were pulled from the Balearic Sea off Majorca between May 18 and early June.
• Civil Guard investigators suspect the victims, thought to be Algerian migrants, were restrained and thrown into the water after onboard confrontations.
• Four individuals linked to people-smuggling operations have been arrested as part of the widening homicide inquiry.
• Advanced decomposition and lack of personal documents are hampering identification efforts, prompting forensic teams to collect DNA samples and necrofingerprints.
• The discoveries come amid a record surge in migrant crossings to the Balearic Islands, with 2,695 arrivals recorded this year and about 30 bodies washing ashore over the past six months.