Morocco's interior ministry issued its first death toll on Sunday for those who died trying to cross into the Spanish north African autonomous city of Ceuta last week, saying 11 people had died.
It's a sharp contrast from Spain's figures which have set the death toll at 72, though those include deaths inside Ceuta, compared to Morocco's figures which appear to mainly focus on migrant deaths en route to the autonomous territory.
Tens of thousands of would-be migrants crossed into the territory between Wednesday and Friday, sparking a diplomatic row within the European Union as some member states criticised Spain's migration policies.
Rachid el-Khalfi, a spokesperson for Morocco's interior ministry, said that of the 11 who died, 10 had drowned, while an eleventh person fell from a rocky area. None of the deaths were recorded in Ceuta.
Morocco says its figures remain preliminary, noting that it is working with Spain to check the toll figures and to identify bodies found on the Spanish territory.
