Spain has installed a 500-meter-long barrier in the waters between Ceuta, its territory in North Africa, and Morocco.
Spanish law enforcement authorities carried out the installation work at the Tarajal breakwater, which has been primarily used as a route for migrants to enter.
The barrier, connecting air-inflatable structures and naval buoys, rises up to 70 centimeters above the water and extends up to 1 meter below the surface.
This measure follows a massive influx of tens of thousands of migrants who crossed into Ceuta from Morocco all at once starting on the 30th of last month.
The Spanish government estimates that about 50,000 migrants crossed the border via land and sea over a two-day period.
This means a number of people exceeding half of the city's population, which is around 80,000, rushed into the city at once.
Some migrants scaled border fences and breakwaters, while a significant number jumped into the sea from the Moroccan coast and swam across to Ceuta.
It is estimated that at least 67 people have died so far in the process.
The Spanish government deployed additional troops and police, and Moroccan authorities also mobilized tear gas and water cannons to block crowds heading toward the border.
The Spanish Foreign Minister explained that currently almost all of the migrants have returned to Morocco.
The Spanish government believes that people rushed in all at once as false information regarding a recent Supreme Court ruling spread through social media and human smuggling rings.
The ruling, which stated that it is difficult to immediately send back migrants who enter by sea, was reportedly distorted into a rumor that "if you arrive in Ceuta by sea, you can stay in Spain."
Due to this incident, 22 European Union member states have demanded measures to jointly protect external borders, and the EU has decided to hold an emergency meeting of interior ministers on the 4th, local time, to discuss joint response measures.
Reported by An Hyemin | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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