The crew of a US-operated cruise ship recovered the remains of five deceased individuals who were found floating in the water in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this week.
Princess Cruises' ship Sapphire Princess was en route to Cartagena in Spain when her crew saw a lifejacket on the surface while underway in the Western Mediterranean on Tuesday, April 21.
The ship turned around and launched a rescue tender with an embarked crew to investigate. The crew subsequently recovered five bodies from the water and brought these on board the larger vessel.
Some of Sapphire Princess' passengers posted on social media that they had witnessed the actual recovery effort.
The ship resumed her scheduled voyage and the recovered remains were handed over to Spanish authorities upon arrival in Cartagena.
Princess Cruises later said that counseling services have been made available to the ship's passengers and staff who wish to avail of these.
The company has issued a statement assuring that the deceased were neither passengers nor crewmembers of Sapphire Princess.