At Least 18 Dead as Nearly 50,000 Migrants Cross Into Spain’s Ceuta

Spanish authorities said Friday that at least 18 people have died as tens of thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta, Spain’s north African exclave, over the past 24 hours, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to travel to the city.

Nearly 50,000 Arrivals in One Day

Spain’s Interior Ministry estimated that around 49,000 migrants entered the enclave overnight, many swimming around the border fence from Morocco. The government had already deployed troops to reinforce Civil Guard officers as crowds continued crossing the frontier.

Humanitarian Crisis Unfolds on the Streets

Rachid Sbihi, head of a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a serious humanitarian crisis, saying reinforcements were focused only on helping the injured. Thousands of migrants, including children traveling alone, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks with no shelter. Sbihi said most of the 18 deaths involved drowning, while others died in a stampede at the Tarajal beach breakwater fence.

Diplomatic Tensions Rise Alongside the Crossing

Sanchez planned to visit the Tarajal border crossing with Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska on Friday. The surge adds to long standing friction between Spain and Morocco over migration through Ceuta and Melilla, Europe’s only land borders with Africa. Italy called Thursday for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen open-borders zone, prompting Spain to summon Italy’s ambassador. Moroccan authorities had not issued an official statement, though a source told reporters the two countries were in contact over the situation.