Death toll rises to 72 in Ceuta migrant crisis

A Moroccan migrant approaches a border checkpoint in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, on Sunday, seeking to return to Morocco. [AFP]

The death toll from a mass crossing of Moroccan migrants into Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, has risen to 72.

Spanish authorities said Sunday that "the most recently tallied death count is 72," according to AFP and other news agencies.

Most of the victims drowned while swimming from Morocco toward Ceuta, while others were crushed to death trying to scale a breakwater barrier. Spanish state broadcaster RTVE reported that police are combing waters near Ceuta in search of additional drowning victims yet to be recovered. A local police official who asked not to be named told the Spanish daily El País, "There are still more bodies in the sea."

The bodies of 67 people who died while swimming from Morocco to Ceuta have so far been recovered from waters near the enclave. Authorities are reportedly preparing a facility capable of holding up to 200 bodies, anticipating further casualties.

Moroccan migrants who crossed into Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, are escorted by Spanish soldiers toward the Spain-Morocco border for repatriation on Sunday. [AP]

Moroccan migrants who entered Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, are led by Spanish soldiers toward the Spain-Morocco border on Sunday as part of their repatriation to Morocco. [AP]

Earlier, as many as 60,000 Moroccans were estimated to have surged into Ceuta, which borders Morocco in North Africa, by Saturday. Spain's Interior Ministry said most had since returned to Morocco voluntarily, but the fallout has not subsided, with EU member states sharply criticizing the Spanish government's handling of the crisis.

Spanish authorities deployed about 3,000 security personnel to Ceuta to search for migrants who had entered and maintain public order, but reports indicate that hundreds of migrants remain along the coastline and roads near the border.

A local correspondent for Russia's RIA Novosti reported that migrants are hiding in a range of locations — under bridges, on building rooftops, on beaches, in parks and inside drainage pipes — to evade authorities. Security forces are struggling to conduct searches because the migrants have scattered across the city in small groups.

As the situation eased somewhat, with most migrants returning to Morocco, Ceuta has been quickly returning to normal — shops have reopened and the enclave's roughly 84,000 residents and tourists have been returning to restaurants and cafes.

The Ceuta coastline has also remained relatively calm. Work is underway to install a maritime barrier using buoys in waters off Ceuta. The Spanish government has announced plans to erect a 500-meter barrier along the maritime border between Ceuta and Morocco to prevent a recurrence.

Police officers stand guard over Moroccan migrants sitting on a beach in Ceuta, Spain, on Sunday. [Reuters]

Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain gather on a beach in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa, on Sunday. [AP]

The crisis has reignited Europe's long-simmering immigration debate. Many of the Moroccans who entered Ceuta said the border had in effect been left open, and that Spanish authorities stood by without taking action as thousands crossed.

Mohammad Abdelkader Driss, who works at a restaurant in Ceuta, told AP that the Spanish government bore responsibility for the crisis. "If you leave the border open, of course everyone is going to try to come in," he said.

Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Spanish party Vox, which opposes accepting refugees, visited Ceuta on Sunday and lashed out at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government — which has pursued an inclusive immigration policy — calling the mass influx an "invasion."

"The borders of Ceuta and Melilla," Abascal said, referring to the other Spanish city bordering Morocco, "are the walls that protect our home and our homeland. A corrupt government that betrays its country is failing to defend them."

Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV also mentioned the Ceuta crisis during the Angelus prayer at the Vatican on Sunday. "I am watching the serious situation in Ceuta with concern," the Pope said. "I pray to God that peace, stability and a just solution may be found."

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