72 dead in mass influx of migrants in Ceuta
Government representative confirmed the figure of 72 dead, while Moroccan data reported 11; most of the roughly 60,000 who entered have already returned.
Spanish authorities raised the death toll in the recent mass influx of migrants into the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta to 72 people. Later, Moroccan representatives put forward a lower estimate — 11 dead, of whom ten drowned and one person fell from a rocky area.
Government representative in Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez Trijano, confirmed the new number of fatalities while services continue to assess the scale of the incident.
The return was rapid for most of those who entered
According to estimates, about 60,000 people entered the enclave, mostly by swimming. Most of those who crossed the barrier did not stay — authorities say that the majority returned to Morocco voluntarily within 48 hours.
Spanish police and the army are patrolling the streets of Ceuta after the mass influx that occurred between Wednesday and Friday, and the situation has largely returned to normal. Only small groups of migrants remain on the ground.
The differences in the reported numbers of the dead underscore the difficulties in verifying events of this scale, while authorities continue to monitor the situation and collect information.
Photo: El País)
