Over 60,000 migrants entered Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta in just 24 hours, with at least 57 people losing their lives during the border crossing.
According to the Associated Press, the mass influx occurred between Thursday, July 30, and Friday, July 31, as individuals utilized both land and maritime routes from Morocco into Ceuta.
Many attempted to reach the Spanish territory by swimming across the sea to bypass water-based border barriers. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on Friday.
Speaking on the developments, Sánchez stated that the government is deploying all available resources to manage the crisis. He traveled to Ceuta alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
A government spokesperson reported that some of the fatalities resulted from drowning, while others were trampled as crowds attempted to scale the city's breakwaters.
However, a specific breakdown of deaths by cause was not provided.
Data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior indicates that repatriation procedures to send the newly arrived individuals back to Morocco have already begun.
On Friday alone, approximately 25,000 migrants were returned from Ceuta to Morocco.
Rashid Sibihi, a local labor union leader representing Civil Guard personnel, described the situation as a "grave humanitarian crisis."
He noted that thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, are sleeping on sidewalks while others wander aimlessly through the streets of Ceuta.
"People are still entering," Sibihi said.
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"The additional forces that have arrived are primarily busy assisting the injured and handling other humanitarian tasks. The situation is completely chaotic."
BBC reports that the surge in migration follows a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court, which stated that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla—another Spanish enclave—cannot be summarily expelled back to Morocco.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Friday that he had ordered intensified border searches and increased controls along the Spanish border starting Thursday night, alongside the deployment of rapid-response border forces.
The crisis has also reverberated in Italy.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni warned that to protect national borders and citizen security, Italy could potentially suspend the open-border provisions of the Schengen Agreement regarding Spain, despite the two countries not sharing a direct land border.
Juan Jesús Vivas, head of the regional government of Ceuta, called for a state of emergency to be declared in the interest of national security.
Demanding the deployment of additional police and military personnel to the border, Vivas argued these measures are necessary to secure the border and protect citizens.
However, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior rejected the call for a national state of emergency, stating that such measures do not apply to immigration crises, though the government promised to dispatch additional personnel and resources to address the situation.
Sources: Associated Press, BBC, and Reuters
