Overview

• Survivors and relatives say the bindings were Somali funeral rites applied after the men died of starvation during the two-week sea crossing.
• A Red Cross medical report attributes the five deaths to hypoglycemia, ketoacidosis and metabolic syndrome, ruling out any violent cause.
• Their boat’s engine broke down on the second day of the Algeria-to-Spain crossing, leaving passengers adrift with only dates, urine and seawater to sustain them.
• Spanish police have arrested one alleged Nigerian skipper on charges of organising illegal immigration, reckless homicide and membership of a criminal organisation.
• Forensic teams are pursuing DNA and necrofingerprint analyses to identify victims as Mediterranean crossings surge this year.