Cruise ship rescues nearly 70 migrants found at sea, recovers bodies

The cruise ship Insignia pulled 68 people from a dinghy floating about 440 miles south of the Canary Island Tenerife, Spain’s maritime rescue agency said Thursday. An oil tanker first discovered the boat and alerted authorities, who diverted the pleasure vessel to aid the stranded group. The Insignia, which can carry more than 600 passengers, was in the middle of a roughly six-month voyage when it rescued the castaways between Cape Verde and Tenerife, an Oceania Cruises spokesperson told WORLD. The group was brought aboard for medical assistance and provided with food, water, clothes, and a place to sleep, the spokesperson added.

Five dead bodies were found in the migrant boat along with the crowd of people. Only three of the deceased were recovered due to poor weather, the maritime rescue agency added. A government search and rescue vessel will meet the Insignia when it first arrives in Tenerife on Friday, maritime authorities added. The cruise ship left a reflector on the dinghy, which will allow rescuers to locate the boat on radar and recover the remaining two bodies. 

Who were the people on the boat? The Spanish government has not expressly confirmed the identities of the castaways, but it’s possible the group consisted of African migrants attempting to cross the Atlantic into Europe. Over 55,000 migrants arrived by boat in Spain last year, with many landing in the Canaries, according to Statista Research. 

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report in The Sift on the migrant boat that capsized near Cape Verde.