Tens of Thousands Flock to Ceuta Demanding Entry... Most Deaths Caused by Drowning

The death toll has risen to 72 amid a mass influx of tens of thousands of Moroccan migrants crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.

Spanish authorities stated on the 2nd, local time, that the latest confirmed death toll stands at 72.

Most of the victims drowned while swimming from Morocco toward Ceuta, while some lost their lives in crush accidents while trying to scale the breakwater barriers.

Spain's state broadcaster RTVE reported that police authorities are scouring the waters near Ceuta to find drowning victims who have not yet been recovered.

A local police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Spanish daily El Pais, "There are still more bodies in the sea."

So far, the bodies of 67 people who lost their lives while swimming from Morocco to Ceuta have been recovered from the waters near Ceuta.

Authorities expect additional casualties and are reportedly preparing facilities capable of accommodating up to 200 bodies.

Moroccan authorities have also begun their own tally of Moroccan casualties.

The Moroccan Ministry of the Interior announced on the 2nd that the death toll of individuals who died while attempting to enter Ceuta has been counted at 11.

The ministry added that 10 of them drowned and one died from a fall in a rocky area.

This differs significantly from the 72 deaths tallied by Spain around the same time.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), a non-governmental organization, estimated the death toll at nearly 130 and the number of missing at several dozen.

Morocco added that it is in discussions with Spanish authorities to accurately tally the dead and verify their identities.

The Moroccan Interior Ministry shifted part of the blame onto Spain.

It claimed that a decision issued by the Spanish Supreme Court in early July, which migrants misinterpreted, was one of the causes that triggered this situation.

The ruling at the time centered on temporarily suspending the repatriation of migrants who entered via the sea.

The ministry also pointed to the misuse of social media, the spread of fake news, and human smuggling brokers as contributing factors.

The Moroccan Interior Ministry added that authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

Ceuta, bordering Morocco in North Africa, was flooded all at once by an estimated maximum of 60,000 Moroccans by the 1st, shocking Spanish authorities and Europe.

Morocco tallied the number of people who entered Ceuta without authorization at 40,000, and 1,135 at Melilla, another Spanish border territory.

While the Spanish Ministry of the Interior stated that most of them subsequently returned to Morocco voluntarily, the repercussions show no signs of easily subsiding, with EU member states strongly criticizing the Spanish government's response.

The anti-immigration government of Giorgia Meloni in Italy took a confrontational stance against Spain, deciding to suspend the Schengen Agreement—which guarantees free movement among EU nations—specifically regarding Spain for one month.

Spanish authorities deployed 3,000 military and police personnel to Ceuta to search for the intruding Moroccan migrants and maintain security, but reports indicate that hundreds of migrants still remain on beaches and roads near the border.

A local correspondent for Russia's RIA Novosti reported that these migrants are hiding in various locations such as under bridges, on rooftops, beaches, parks, and drainage pipes to evade authorities, making it difficult for law enforcement to search due to their dispersal across the city in small groups.

As the situation has entered a phase of stabilization with the vast majority of the flocked migrants returning to Morocco, Ceuta's shops have reportedly reopened, and its 84,000 residents and tourists are returning to restaurants and cafes, quickly regaining their daily lives.

Ceuta's coastline is also maintaining a relatively calm atmosphere, and work is reportedly underway to install a maritime barrier by deploying buoys in Ceuta's waters.

The Spanish government had previously stated that it would install a barrier on the maritime border between Ceuta and Morocco to prevent similar incidents.

Accordingly, a 500-meter-long floating barrier was deployed off the coast of Ceuta as of the 1st.

There are signs that Europe's immigration debate, which had been dormant for a while, will be reignited by this incident.

Mohamad Abdelkader Driss, who works at a restaurant in downtown Ceuta, told the Associated Press, "If you leave the border open, naturally everyone is going to try to get in," revealing his view that the Spanish government is responsible for this situation.

Many Moroccans who entered Ceuta claimed that the border was effectively in an open state and that Spanish authorities took no significant action while watching thousands cross the border.

Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain's anti-immigration far-right party VOX, visited Ceuta on the 2nd, local time, labeling the massive influx of migrants an invasion and fiercely criticizing the government of Pedro Sanchez, which has pursued an inclusive immigration policy.

Abascal argued, "The borders of Ceuta and Melilla are our homes and the ramparts defending our homeland," claiming that "a corrupt government that betrays the country is failing to protect them properly."

Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV also mentioned the Ceuta situation during the Angelus prayer held at Vatican City on the 2nd, local time.

The Pope stated, "I am watching the serious situation in Ceuta with concern," adding, "I pray to God that peace, stability, and a just solution will be found."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.