The death toll has risen to 72 as tens of thousands of Moroccan migrants surged into Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa.

Spanish authorities stated on August 2, local time, that the latest death toll stood at 72.

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

Spain's state broadcaster RTVE reported that police authorities were scouring the waters near Ceuta to recover bodies that have not yet been found.

A local police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Spanish daily El País, "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 a facility capable of accommodating up to 200 bodies.

Moroccan authorities have also begun their own tally of citizen deaths.

Morocco's Ministry of the Interior announced on August 2 that the death toll for individuals who died while attempting to enter Ceuta stood at 11.

Of these, 10 drowned and one died from a fall in a rocky area, the interior ministry added.

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, with dozens more missing.

Morocco added that it is consulting with Spanish authorities to accurately count the dead and verify their identities.

Morocco's interior ministry shifted part of the blame onto Spain.

It claimed that a Supreme Court ruling issued in early July was misunderstood by migrants, serving as one of the causes that triggered the crisis.

The ruling in question aimed to temporarily suspend the repatriation of migrants who entered via the sea.

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

Morocco's interior ministry added that authorities have launched a fact-finding investigation into the incident.

Up to an estimated 60,000 Moroccans flooded all at once into Ceuta, which borders Morocco in North Africa, until August 1, sending shockwaves through Spanish authorities and Europe.

Morocco tallied 40,000 unauthorized entries into Ceuta and 1,135 into Melilla, another Spanish border enclave.

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

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

Spanish authorities deployed 3,000 police and military personnel to Ceuta to search for the intruding Moroccan migrants and maintain public order, but reports indicate that hundreds of migrants still remain along the coastline 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, making it difficult for law enforcement authorities to conduct searches as they have dispersed into small groups throughout the city.

As the situation has entered a somewhat stabilizing phase with the vast majority of the gathered migrants returning to Morocco, stores in Ceuta have reopened, and its 84,000 residents and tourists are reportedly returning quickly to daily life by visiting restaurants and cafes.

The coast of Ceuta also maintains a relatively calm atmosphere, and work is underway to install a floating barrier by setting up buoys in Ceuta's waters.

The Spanish government previously announced that it would install a barrier at 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 August 1.

The incident shows signs of reigniting Europe's long-dormant debate on immigration.

Mohamad Abdelkader Dris, who works at a restaurant in downtown Ceuta, told the Associated Press, "If you leave the border open, of course everyone is going to try to get in," expressing the perception that the Spanish government is responsible for the crisis.

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

Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain's anti-immigration far-right party Vox, visited Ceuta on August 2, local time, labeling the massive influx of migrants an invasion and harshly criticizing the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, which has pursued an inclusive immigration policy.

Abascal argued, "The borders of Ceuta and Melilla are the walls defending our home and homeland," and claimed, "A corrupt government that betrays its homeland is failing to protect them properly."

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

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

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)