Spain’s Interior Ministry says that, according to its estimates, some 49,000 migrants have crossed into the enclave of Ceuta in North Africa over the past 24 hours, as they rush by sea and land from Morocco.
“There was a steady stream of people all night long,” and while arrivals were lower than during the day, migrants “continued to arrive overnight and are still arriving” this morning, a police source says.
A total of 18 people died while attempting to reach the Spanish enclave, the source adds.
Spain sent military and police reinforcements to Ceuta yesterday after the surge.
Ceuta, along with Melilla, another Spanish autonomous city in northern Morocco, represent the European Union’s only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
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