At least 72 people have died after an estimated 60,000 migrants surged across the border from Morocco into Ceuta, Spain’s North African territory, in recent days. Spanish authorities said more than 1,000 people have been treated by medical services since the wave of crossings began on Thursday.
Spain’s government delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez, confirmed the death toll had risen to 72, adding that five more bodies were found along the coast on Sunday. Spanish news agency EFE reported that the figure is expected to climb further.
Spain’s Civil Guard has begun the process of identifying the 72 bodies. Carlos Atuchi, the force’s forensic science officer, said fingerprint and DNA collection will be completed by no later than the end of next week.
Some migrants died by drowning, while others were crushed while trying to climb over breakwaters and border fences. Ceuta’s leader, Juan Jesus Vivas, told El Pais that the city’s morgue has received 88 bodies, including those of people who died in earlier, smaller crossing attempts, mostly dangerous night swims over the past two weeks. He also said Moroccan authorities are recovering bodies at sea, but no official information has been provided.
More than 48,000 of the migrants have returned to Morocco within 48 hours. Spain’s Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, wrote on X on Friday evening that nearly all those who entered Ceuta have returned to Morocco.
The crisis has prompted 22 European Union member states to call for coordinated action at the border, Italy to temporarily suspend the visa-free Schengen agreement with Spain, and Spanish authorities to install a 500-meter floating barrier off Ceuta’s coast. Police and military patrols have been increased.
Ceuta, along with Melilla – another Spanish autonomous city in North Africa – is the EU’s only land border with Africa. To reach Ceuta, migrants typically swim about five kilometers from Morocco’s Fnideq town, or set off from the nearby town of Belyounech, which is a shorter distance.
Spain has a more open stance toward migrants than most other EU countries, having implemented a program granting residency to more than half a million undocumented people. It rejects suggestions that this program encourages the flow into Ceuta, stressing that those who enter Ceuta illegally cannot move to mainland Spain or other areas of the Schengen bloc.
