People gather along the fence at the site of clashes near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026. Thousands of migrants crossed overnight from Morocco into Spain's north Africa's Ceuta enclave | AFP

At least 72 people died during the mass influx in recent days of migrants into Spain’s Ceuta enclave, when tens of thousands of people mostly swam around the border post from Morocco, local officials said on Sunday.

Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain’s north African territory have returned to Morocco since the territory’s largest mass migrant crossing.

“The latest figure that we have is 72,” the government’s delegate to Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez Triano, told reporters, when asked about the number of fatalities.

The previous toll was 67 deaths.