TWO paddleboarders made a grim discovery after spotting a body floating in the sea off the coast of a popular Spanish holiday destination.
The pair found the corpse at the northern end of La Mata beach in Torrevieja on Monday afternoon.
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Two paddleboarders found a corpse at the northern end of La Mata beach in Torrevieja Credit: Alamy
The authorities quickly took charge of the investigation Credit: Alamy
They immediately raised the alarm, with Guardia Civil officers quickly taking charge of the investigation.
Police believe the body may have come from a migrant boat that was shipwrecked while attempting to reach Spain.
Early findings appear to support this theory given the man’s clothing and the advanced state of decomposition.
Investigators have also reported that there were no obvious signs of violence on the body.
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Following the shocking discovery, the victim was covered with a thermal blanket before being removed from the beach.
Authorities have since taken a DNA sample in an effort to identify the man.
The discovery comes amid a rise in the number of bodies washing ashore along Spain’s eastern coast from migrant boats.
Many of the journeys are believed to begin in Algeria, but strong winds can push vessels off course, often with tragic consequences.
In July last year, five men were found dead in the sea off Mallorca.
The bodies were those of African migrants who had tried to get to the Spanish holiday island to start a new life in Europe.
Their tiny boat had left Algeria and was adrift for two weeks as the engine had broken down during the second day of the crossing.
After receiving the survivors, the Red Cross found that most of them had very acute symptoms of dehydration, wounds and infectious symptoms.
During the panic, they reportedly fed themselves on a date a day and most ended up drinking their own urine to survive.
A Red Cross spokesperson said: “One of the people had eaten toothpaste because he did not have anything else and did not want to let go of the bottle when he arrived here.
All the migrants were Somalis, except for the two alleged skippers, who are Nigerian nationals.
One of them died during the crossing and the other was arrested by the authorities.
