At least 72 people died during the recent mass influx of migrants into Spain’s Ceuta enclave from Morocco, Spanish officials said on Sunday, though Moroccan officials later presented a lower estimate.
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Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain’s north African territory, most by swimming, have returned to Morocco since the territory’s largest mass migrant crossing.
“The latest figure that we have is 72,” the government’s delegate to Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez Triano, told reporters, when asked about the number of fatalities. The previous toll was 67 deaths.
Later on Sunday, Morocco’s interior ministry issued its own toll, saying 11 people had died trying to reach Ceuta. They said 10 people had drowned while one fell from a rocky area.
Spanish police and troops patrolled the streets of Ceuta on Sunday as the enclave largely returned to normal after the sudden mass influx between Wednesday and Friday.
Only small groups of migrants were still walking around after most who crossed the small border barrier returned voluntarily to Morocco within 48 hours.
On Saturday, reporters with the AFP news agency saw migrant minors milling around in a disused industrial park in Ceuta, while others dozed on the pavements outside.
“All the children here want to go to (mainland) Spain,” said one of the few adults at the site, Moroccan man Aziz Dabch, 41.
Naval patrols
What was the largest-ever migrant rush into the enclave sparked an international crisis for Spain, as some of its European partners criticised Madrid for its immigration policies.
Outside a housing project near Ceuta port, Spanish soldiers detained a group of nine tired-looking migrants who were sitting on the pavement, guarded by troops with an armoured car, an AFP reporter said.
Small inflatable boats from a rescue unit scoured the waters around the border barrier that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, where a new 500-metre floating boom reinforced security.
The Civil Guard were also taking migrants off a bus to escort them back to the border post to return to Morocco.
The border crossing was calm and groups of workers picked up trash, clothes and rubbish left behind during the mass crossing.
Spain has blamed criminal gangs for spreading rumours that a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling on immigration would allow migrants easier passage.
Rumours
Some analysts have suggested that Morocco might have allowed migrants to cross the border to put diplomatic pressure on Spain, which has recently improved ties with Rabat’s arch-enemy neighbouring Algeria.
In 2021, around 10,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta, taking advantage of Morocco easing border controls as a way to pressure Spain.
Some of those who crossed the border said they had heard the border was open, a rumour quickly amplified on social media.
The EU said it would hold a video call on Tuesday after 22 bloc members issued a joint open letter calling for an urgent meeting to agree a speedy coordinated response and to prevent further uncontrolled crossings.
Italy on Saturday implemented a one-month suspension of its Schengen agreement with Spain allowing for control-free movement between borders.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, in a letter to EU leaders, blasted the “selfish” reaction of some EU countries.
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday spoke to the situation in Ceuta in his daily prayers, saying he was following it “with concern” and hoping for a solution of “peace, stability and justice.”
Additional sources • AFP