Most of the estimated 60,000 people who rushed into Spain's north African territory -- most by swimming -- 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.Later Sunday, Morocco's interior ministry issued its own toll, saying 11 people had died trying to reach Ceuta. They said 10 people had drowned while one fell from a rocky area.
Tens of thousands of people swam to the Spanish enclave from neighbouring Morocco © Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP
Spanish police and troops patrolled the streets of Ceuta on Sunday as the enclave largely returned to normal after the sudden mass influx between Wednesday and Friday.Only small groups of migrants were still walking around after most who crossed the small border barrier returned voluntarily to Morocco in 48 hours.AFP on Saturday saw migrant minors milling around in a disused industrial park in Ceuta, while others dozed on the pavements outside."All the children here want to go to (mainland) Spain," said one of the few adults at the site, Moroccan man Aziz Dabch, 41.Naval patrolsWhat was the largest-ever migrant rush into the enclave sparked an international crisis for Spain, as some of its European partners criticised Madrid for its immigration policies.Outside a housing project near Ceuta port, Spanish soldiers detained a group of nine tired-looking migrants who were sitting on the pavement, guarded by troops with an armoured car, an AFP reporter said.
