Cruise Ship Makes Grim Discovery After Finding Something Orange in the Water

A cruise ship sailing to Spain made a shocking discovery this week. 

The Sapphire Princess cruise ship departed Cagliari, Italy, on Monday, April 20, according to CruiseMapper. But during the sailing to Cartagena, Spain, a peculiar item was discovered in the waters.

Crews on board “observed an orange inflatable lifejacket in the water” on April 21, the company tells PEOPLE. The ship subsequently changed its course to investigate and deployed a Fast Rescue Boat.

“Five deceased individuals were recovered by the Sapphire Princess crew members and coordinated efforts with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC),” the company said in an emailed statement. PEOPLE has reached out to the Spanish Maritime Rescue authority for further information. 

The company did not share any details as to the individuals’ identity, but confirmed they were neither guests nor crew members. 

In a video taken on board the ship, obtained by Italian newspaper La Stampa, the captain explains to passengers that at first, only one body was found. 

“Unfortunately, when our crew arrived, they found a deceased person in the water. We notified the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center and they advised that we stay in the area to assist,” he says. “As we searched further, we found four more deceased individuals in the water.”  

Local newspaper Murcia Today reports Spain’s National Police are now investigating the incident and whether there is a possible connection to a small boat found adrift 25 miles off Cartagena earlier in the week.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Spanish National Police for comment. 

The Sapphire Princess is currently on a 14-day, one-way sailing from Civitavecchia to Copenhagen, Denmark, per CruiseMapper. The ship departed Italy on Sunday, April 19 and is set to arrive on Sunday, May 3. Port stops include Gibraltar; A Coruña, Spain; Dover, England and Oslo, Norway. 

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In February, the company’s Regal Princess cruise ship turned around to rescue four people from a small boat in “distress.” 

Around 7 p.m. local time on Feb. 23, while the vessel was sailing from Galveston, Texas, to Cozumel, Mexico, crews “responded to a small vessel in distress and safely rescued four individuals at sea,” a spokesperson said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. 

The Princess spokesperson confirmed that “all four individuals were brought onboard and were evaluated by the ship’s medical team.”