Madrid (dpa) – Eleven drowned people were found in the Mediterranean Sea south of the Spanish island of Mallorca on Monday, a local newspaper reported.
They appeared to be migrants who had tried to reach the Balearic island in a small boat, the Diario de Mallorca newspaper reported, citing the authorities.
A yacht discovered the bodies to the west of the small Balearic island of Cabrera and raised the alarm. Its crew was able to rescue three people and recover two bodies. The sea rescue services were to recover the other nine bodies.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 27,000 migrants reached Spain this year by mid-September, of whom 1500 arrived in the Balearic Islands, which include Mallorca.
According to the UN Organization for Migration, at least 149 people had died on the western Mediterranean route towards Spain by the middle of the year.
The number of unreported cases is probably higher, however, because some of the accidents at sea go unreported.
