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Child among three migrants found dead off Alicante coast in possible link to Cartagena tragedy
Investigators are looking into whether the latest victims were on the same boat as migrants found dead near Murcia earlier in April
The bodies of three migrants have been recovered from the waters off the Alicante coast and the Guardia Civil are now looking into whether they may be connected to the deaths of eight other migrants found near Cartagena earlier this month.
The three victims, a man, a woman and a child, are thought to have been travelling in a small boat and were recovered in an advanced state of decomposition. Investigators believe they likely died during a crossing from Algeria, although that has yet to be confirmed.
The discoveries were made at three separate locations along the Alicante coastline. A body was found in the waters off El Campello on Wednesday, and a recreational boat raised the alarm after spotting the body of a child floating near Cabo de la Huerta in the city of Alicante at around 10am. The child was wearing a life jacket.
While that recovery operation was still underway, a Guardia Civil patrol boat was dispatched to nearby Tabarca Island after a second body, apparently that of a woman, was spotted floating in the water there.
The possible connection being investigated is to a series of discoveries made near Cartagena on April 20 and 21.
On April 20, a French Navy patrol ship spotted a small migrant boat adrift around 21 miles south-east of Águilas. When the vessel was brought into Cartagena, five men were found on board, three of them already dead. The following day, crew members aboard the Sapphire Princess cruise ship spotted five bodies floating in the sea approximately 140 miles off the coast of Cabo de Palos.
The Guardia Civil hasn't ruled out the possibility that all of the victims may be linked to the same crossing. Investigations are ongoing.
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