BBC News
· collected 2026-07-31 · by Sofia Ferreira Santos, Sarah Rainsford
Story summary
Here is a summary of the news story based on the article excerpts:
At least 19 migrants died after breaching border between Morocco and Spanish territory Ceuta
In a chaotic and tragic event, tens of thousands of migrants poured into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in just one day. 49,000 people were estimated to have crossed illegally, with at least 19 dead bodies found in the water. The mass crossing caused "absolute chaos" and put a strain on local resources. Spanish authorities had deployed troops to bolster security and maintain order.
The situation was described as a "humanitarian crisis" by local officials, who appealed for help from Madrid after a recent rise in attempted crossings. Morocco's authorities had also deployed water cannon trucks to push people back at the border.
Spain estimates that about 69,500 migrants have now returned to Morocco, exceeding initial estimates of 50,000. The official death toll on the Spanish side of the border stands at 72, with 11 deaths on the Moroccan side. The European Union has called an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis and strengthen EU borders.
The incident has strained relations among some EU member states, with Italy temporarily suspending the Schengen agreement with Spain due to the influx of migrants.
Written for “Migrant Crisis in Ceuta” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
About 49,000 migrants have crossed into Spain's North African territory of Ceuta from Morocco in the last 24 hours via land and sea, officials estimate.
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officials → publish → land
Videos and images showed thousands of people swimming into the city on Thursday, while local media reported crossings continuing overnight.
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crossings → show → Thursday
Officials say at least 18 people have died while trying to reach the territory in recent days.
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people → say → days
This comes after Spain's Supreme Court ruled this month that migrants stopped at sea while trying to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish exclave, cannot be summarily returned to Morocco.
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migrants → come → Morocco
Ceuta, on Morocco's northern coast, is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar and has long been a focal point for migrants attempting to reach Europe.
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Ceuta → separate → Europe
Local officials had appealed to Madrid for help after a recent rise in attempted crossings, but there were chaotic scenes on Thursday as border controls apparently broke down.
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controls → appeal → Thursday
The astonishing estimation by Spanish officials suggests the number of migrants who entered into Ceuta in the last day or so could be more than half of the population of the city - which sits at around 83,600 according to the latest local figures.
uncertain
which → suggest → figures
Spain later deployed its armed forces to bolster security in Ceuta and at its sister city of Melilla, where between 300 to 400 crossings were also reported overnight.
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crossings → deploy → Melilla
Coveted by Morocco, both cities have long been a flashpoint in diplomatic relations with Spain.
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cities → covet → Spain
Madrid asserts that both territories are integral parts of Spain and have the same status as the semi-autonomous regions on its mainland.
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territories → assert → mainland
Both territories trace their Spanish past to the 15th Century, and they have enjoyed a limited degree of self-government as Autonomous Communities since 1995.
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they → trace → 1995
They form the European Union's only land borders with Africa.
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They → form → Africa
Many of those crossing the border from Morocco have been young, mainly men, although there are also women and children in the crowds and even babies.
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Many → cross → crowds
Officials estimate at least 7,000 of those who crossed illegally into the territory in the last 24 hours are minors.
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who → estimate → hours
Usually, to try to enter Ceuta, migrants swim several kilometres from further up the coast.
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migrants → try → coast
This time they appear to have been able to get close to the border fence itself with ease.
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they → appear → ease
At the start, some even walked along the rocks on the jetty and around the end of it, but most had to swim out and around to reach the beaches on the other side.
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most → walk → side
It's not clear where the Moroccan border guards were at this point and why the groups of migrants were not dispersed or stopped.
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groups → disperse → migrants
One migrant told Reuters news agency that he was returning to Morocco, adding:
"It's not good at all, and it's not fun either.
"
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it → tell → Morocco
I mean, people are dying here.
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people → mean → ?
I beg you, please, if you haven't come yet, don't come.
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you → beg → you
Local media reported chaos on the streets of Ceuta since Thursday, with one resident telling Spain's ABC that people are scared.
"Nobody is going out on the street.
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Nobody → report → street
"This is stronger and more aggressive than what we've experienced before," a hospital security guard told the Spanish site.
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guard → experience → site
Another person who spoke to the outlet said the people crossing into the territory were not "poor or needy".
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people → speak → territory
"They are coming to Spain to abuse the system," he said.
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he → come → system
Yassine, a 24-year-old migrant, told the outlet he could not go back to Morocco.
"I have nothing there, Morocco is death," he added.
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he → tell → nothing
The sudden influx of people on Thursday followed several days with an increase in arrivals swimming into Ceuta.
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influx → follow → Ceuta
It appears that word of their success spread quickly.
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word → appear → success
The last time there was a surge in arrivals - though on nowhere near this scale - was in 2021.
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time → be → 2021
At that point, the Moroccan authorities allowed some 8,000 people to cross the border following a dispute with Madrid over the sovereignty of the Western Sahara.
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people → allow → Sahara
That diplomatic dispute has flared again recently, after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez travelled to Algeria which backs independence for the region.
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which → flare → region
Spain's interior ministry said it was working with Morocco to ensure the return of all who crossed illegally into its territory "as soon as possible".
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who → say → territory
Sánchez is set to visit Ceuta later on Friday.
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Sánchez → set → Friday
Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni was very quick to comment on events in Ceuta, calling the images from there "shocking" and writing on social media that such "uncontrolled immigration" was a security threat to Europe.
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immigration → comment → Europe
She said Italy would consider suspending the Schengen zone agreement with Spain on free movement, although it's unclear what that means in practice given that the two countries are not neighbours and undocumented migrants are unlikely to board flights.
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migrants → say → flights
Italy's foreign ministry later clarified their response called for the suspension of the Schengen agreement with Spain at the Italy-Spain border, rather than for Spain to be excluded overall from the agreement.
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Spain → clarify → agreement
In any case, the migrants who have arrived in Ceuta are now stuck there - not on the Spanish mainland.
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who → arrive → mainland
Her comments echoed similar remarks made by foreign minister Antonio Tajani, who was accused of weaponising immigration for political ends by his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares.
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who → echo → counterpart
The Spanish foreign minister said such remarks were "improper" for "a partner and friendly country from which we expect European solidarity and not partisan demagoguery".
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we → say → solidarity
He also summoned the Italian ambassador to Madrid on Friday.
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He → summon → Friday
…and 1 more, not listed.
