Disasters & Incidents
Ceuta migrant death toll rises to 80
The death toll from the migrant rush into Spain's North African territory of Ceuta has risen by two to 80, Spanish legal authorities said Thursday.
Many people drowned while trying to swim around a barrier in the Mediterranean Sea from July 30. The scenes sparked a rift between Spain and some European Union nations that demanded a tougher line on irregular immigration.
A Spanish legal body responsible for identification work, made up of forensics and Civil Guard experts, said Ceuta authorities had recovered 80 bodies from the sea since the incident. It said forensics experts had carried out 80 autopsies out of 82 bodies, two of which were found before the surge, and had identified four people.
Autopsies on the two latest corpses were due to be performed on Friday.
Morocco's interior ministry has said 11 people died on the Moroccan side of the border, all but one by drowning.
Spain says 70,000 of the 72,000 people who reached Ceuta have returned to Morocco. Those who remain, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, face squalid living conditions with limited access to shelter, food, water and sanitation, AFP reporters in Ceuta saw.
Update
Spanish legal authorities said the death toll from the Ceuta migrant rush rose by two to 80.
Ceuta authorities had recovered 80 bodies from the sea since the incident, according to the Spanish identification body.
Forensics experts had carried out 80 autopsies out of 82 bodies and identified four people.
Autopsies on the two latest corpses were due to be performed on Friday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 August 2026 at 20:24:59 UTC.
Update
A Spanish legal identification body said the Ceuta migrant surge death toll is 77, up from the earlier official toll of 75.
Authorities in Ceuta recovered 79 bodies from the sea, but two were recovered before the surge and were excluded from the toll.
Forensics experts carried out 77 autopsies and identified two people already registered in Spain through fingerprints.
Fingerprint data for the remaining bodies is expected to be sent to Morocco for possible recognition.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 20:05:06 UTC.
Update
Morocco's interior ministry said 11 people died on the Moroccan side of the border, all but one by drowning.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 15:18:35 UTC.
Update
The death toll from the July 30 migrant rush to Ceuta has risen to 75 from 72.
The Spanish government's delegation in Ceuta confirmed the new toll to AFP.
Spain says 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who reached Ceuta have returned to Morocco.
Migrants who remain face squalid conditions and difficult access to shelter, food, water and sanitation.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 13:34:42 UTC.
Update
Spain said 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta and 70,000 had returned.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 11:52:59 UTC.
Update
The latest item gives the estimated number of migrants who rushed into Ceuta as 50,000.
Spanish authorities said the toll of 72 people found dead in Spanish waters had not risen on Monday.
A Spanish government delegation source said identifying the dead and finding their families through Moroccan authorities could take a long time.
Migrants in a warehouse complex described poor hygiene and lack of washing facilities.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 17:41:10 UTC.
Update
Spain's foreign minister said Ceuta and Melilla are unquestionably part of Spanish territory.
Spain's central government delegate in Ceuta estimated that 2,500 people from last week's arrivals remained in the enclave, while Ceuta's top official estimated 3,000 to 5,000.
Save the Children said about 1,000 of the remaining migrants were unprotected minors and that Ceuta's child protection system had capacity for 100.
Spain's migration minister said the response would not have been possible without Morocco's collaboration.
Spanish officials accused criminal gangs of spreading rumours linked to a recent Spanish Supreme Court immigration ruling.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 13:46:37 UTC.
Update
Ursula von der Leyen called for united EU action on border security after the Ceuta migrant influx.
Von der Leyen said protection of the EU's external borders is a shared European responsibility and referred to vigilant monitoring and physical barriers where needed.
She commended Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for his handling of the crisis.
She described Tuesday's interior ministers' videoconference as a first step and said EU leaders were expected to take up the issue at their next summit, planned for October.
Von der Leyen urged action on preventing irregular migration through cooperation with partner states, strengthening external borders, early warning systems, smuggling networks and returns.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 12:15:32 UTC.
Update
EU ministers will hold a video meeting over Ceuta on Tuesday, an official said.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 15:22:56 UTC.
Update
The open letter was initiated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the prime ministers of Hungary, Sweden and Poland were among the signatories, while French and Portuguese leaders did not sign.
The letter suggested considering enhanced Frontex support and the effectiveness of EU cooperation with Morocco.
The letter said no unauthorised onward movements had been recorded towards Europe.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 10:58:01 UTC.
Update
Spain installed a 500-metre pneumatic barrier near the Ceuta border post to reinforce security.
France said it would increase its police presence at the Spanish border to 334 officers and gendarmes by Saturday.
Italy suspended Schengen border-free travel rules with Spain for one month from Saturday, according to the item.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote to EU leaders criticising what he called the selfish reaction of some EU countries.
A Moroccan source close to border operations said people returned by Spain were being transported home by bus or via Tangier railway station, and said the Fnideq crossing was secure.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 10:22:11 UTC.
Update
Ceuta's top official estimated that 60,000 migrants entered the enclave between Wednesday and Friday, while Spain's interior ministry put the figure at 50,000.
Spain's interior minister said almost all of the migrants had left by late Saturday morning and the situation had nearly returned to normal.
Spain's interior minister said at least 67 people had died trying to reach Ceuta.
Italy temporarily suspended Schengen border-free travel rules with Spain, while France and Portugal announced additional border controls.
Spanish officials said irregular entry into Ceuta does not give migrants a right to remain in Spain, travel to the mainland or move freely in Europe.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 09:55:16 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Autopsies on the two latest corpses had not yet been performed.
The supplied figures distinguish deaths linked to the Ceuta incident from two bodies found before the surge and from deaths reported on the Moroccan side of the border.
Source
AFP news report published on .