Spain’s Interior Ministry reported that about 50,000 migrants crossed into the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta since Thursday morning, with an estimated 48,300 returning by 6pm (16:00 GMT) on Friday, indicating most have left voluntarily. Juan Jesus Vivas, head of Ceuta’s local government, said as many as 60,000 people had crossed over the past couple of days.

The number of deaths during the influx was raised to at least 67 on Saturday, according to Spanish officials, who noted there could be additional casualties on the Moroccan side of the border. Some confirmed deaths resulted from drowning, while others occurred when migrants were crushed attempting to climb the breakwater holding the border fence.

The situation also involved clashes on the Spain-Morocco border amid the mass migrant movement. Spain deployed military forces to Ceuta following the surge. Spain’s foreign minister emphasized that "the integrity of the Schengen area is absolutely guaranteed."

Sources