18 migrants dead in Ceuta as 49,000 cross border from Morocco

At least 18 migrants died while trying to reach Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, a Spanish Civil Guard official reported. The deaths occurred during a mass attempt by thousands of migrants to breach the border with Morocco. In a single 24-hour period, 49,000 migrants entered the small territory.

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People are still arriving. The reinforcements that have arrived are only helping the injured and in other humanitarian activities.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was expected to visit Ceuta with the interior minister to assess the situation. Rachid Sbihi, head of an association representing Civil Guard officers in Ceuta, described the situation as a "serious humanitarian crisis." He noted that people were still arriving and reinforcements were focused on aiding the injured.

Sbihi painted a picture of chaos within Ceuta, where a large number of children and families were sleeping in parks and wandering the streets. He explained that many of the 18 deceased drowned while attempting to swim across the border. Others died in a stampede as they tried to cross a fence at Tarajal beach.

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Chaos reigns, given that a large number of children and families are sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, and are wandering the streets.

The surge in arrivals and the resulting crisis come after a sharp increase in migrants attempting to reach the enclave, primarily by swimming. The situation highlights the ongoing challenges of irregular migration across the Mediterranean.

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Among the 18 dead, many drowned while trying to swim the border, and some died in a stampede while trying to cross the fence on Tarajal beach.