The death toll from the mass crossing into Ceuta rose to 60 on Saturday as Spanish authorities began installing a new maritime barrier near the Tarajal border and said almost 69,500 migrants had left the enclave for Morocco over the previous 30 hours.
Spanish security sources cited by EFE said Civil Guard officers and rescue teams had recovered additional bodies from the sea, most of them near the maritime border fence at Tarajal. The victims were believed to have drowned while attempting to swim to Ceuta from the Moroccan coast.
Search operations continued with rescue boats and maritime teams, and authorities said the toll could rise further as efforts to locate missing migrants remained underway.
The latest deaths brought the number of people killed while attempting to reach Ceuta since the start of the year to 92.
Spanish security forces said about 69,500 departures toward Morocco had been recorded over 30 hours. Officials cautioned that the figure may include people who entered Ceuta before the latest surge or individuals who crossed the border more than once.
Spain’s Interior Ministry had estimated that about 50,000 people entered Ceuta on Thursday, while the enclave’s president, Juan Jesús Vivas, said the total may have reached 60,000.
Spain has since begun reinforcing the maritime border at Tarajal under measures announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during a visit to Ceuta. The plan includes a 500-meter barrier supported by a line of buoys and a passage allowing Civil Guard boats to patrol the area.
The Interior Ministry said no new crossing attempts were recorded overnight and that irregular entries had stopped.
Thousands continued returning to Morocco following an agreement between Madrid and Rabat and amid deteriorating conditions inside Ceuta, where most shops, shopping centers and cafés had closed during the crisis.
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