About 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain's tiny Ceuta territory in the past 24 hours, Ceuta's president said Friday, a figure that is equivalent to 70 per cent of the population of the city in North Africa. At least 57 migrants died on the journey.But roughly half of the people who made the crossing soon made their way back voluntarily, the Spanish government said, after the sudden arrival of so many migrants triggered chaos and a humanitarian crisis.Some migrants swam several miles through the sea and faced down authorities who tried to turn them back with water cannons, tear gas and warning shots. Those who died included some who drowned or were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier near a border checkpoint.Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta, which sits on the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has been a Spanish possession since 1580. On the Moroccan side of the border, security forces clashed with migrants.“The situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable,” Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas told journalists.Meanwhile, migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, Spain's other territory at the tip of North Africa, where they clashed with police.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Ceuta on Friday and condemned the border breach, which he described as “a violation of Spain's territorial integrity.”Sanchez blamed human smugglers for the crisis, saying they “deceive so many young people and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths," whether in the ocean or in the city.The Spanish Interior Ministry released its own figures shortly after Vivas' spoke, estimating that some 50,000 people had crossed from Morocco since Thursday. It added that 37,500 had already returned to Morocco by Friday afternoon, with hundreds more going back by the hour.Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis,” saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly.“It's chaotic,” Sbihi said.The Moroccan Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the migrant figures released by the Spanish authorities.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the images from Ceuta "are unacceptable.” “We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules,” she said Friday in an online statement. “Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.”Dozens died in the chaos