CEUTA, Spain: At least 72 people died during last week’s mass influx of migrants into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, local authorities said on Sunday, after tens of thousands of people crossed the border from Morocco.
Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, the Spanish government’s delegate to Ceuta, said the latest confirmed death toll had risen to 72 from the previously reported 67.
“The latest figure that we have is 72,” Pérez Triano told reporters when asked about the number of fatalities.
The deaths included migrants who drowned while attempting to swim around the border and others who were killed in a stampede near the breakwater barrier, according to Spanish authorities.
Ceuta enclave returns to calm
Spanish police and troops continued to patrol Ceuta on Sunday as the territory gradually returned to normal following the unprecedented influx.
Authorities estimate that between 50,000 and 60,000 migrants entered the enclave on Thursday and Friday, with most subsequently returning voluntarily to Morocco within 48 hours.
Only small groups of migrants remained in the city, AFP reported.
Outside a housing complex near Ceuta’s port, Spanish soldiers detained nine migrants while rescue boats continued searching waters along the Mediterranean coastline.
Spain also installed a new 500-metre floating sea barrier along part of the maritime border with Morocco on Saturday to reinforce security following the mass crossing.
Civil Guard officers were also seen escorting migrants to the border crossing for their return to Morocco, while municipal workers cleared rubbish, clothing and other debris left behind during the influx.
Humanitarian crisis
The mass crossing has triggered a humanitarian emergency and intensified political debate over migration policy in Spain and across Europe.
Critics of Spain’s Socialist government have pointed to the incident as evidence that the country’s migration policies have encouraged irregular migration.
Spain has granted legal status to some undocumented workers who entered the country before 2026 as part of broader labour market reforms.
Italy has announced a one-month suspension of its Schengen arrangements with Spain by reintroducing border controls for travellers arriving from Spain by air and sea.
