Death toll from migrant rush into Spanish enclave of Ceuta reaches 72
More bodies recovered near shoreline following mass movement of 50,000 people across Moroccan border
The death toll from a mass rush of migrants from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week reached at least 72 on Sunday, as five more bodies were found along the North African coast, officials said.
The number of fatalities was considerably higher than what was announced by Moroccan authorities on Sunday. More than 50,000 people crossed into Ceuta by land and sea in an unprecedented surge that began on Thursday at one of the European Union’s only two land borders with Africa, prompting alarm across the bloc.
More than 48,000 returned to Morocco within 48 hours and more did so over the weekend, Spanish authorities said. The Spanish government representative in Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez, told reporters on Sunday that, in addition to the 72 fatalities, more than 1,000 people had been treated by health services.
The situation in the enclave had improved markedly, he said, but more remained to be done to re-establish normality. Some migrants drowned and others were crushed while trying to climb a breakwater and border fence.
Many had been driven to migrate by economic hardship and encouraged by social media rumours.
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that 11 people had died, mostly by drowning while trying to cross into Spanish territory, noting that it was fact-checking reports on deaths from the other side of the border.
