Migrants wait in line to receive food and beverage from the Red Cross, following mass crossings of migrants on foot and by sea from Morocco into Spanish territory, in Ceuta, Spain, August 3, 2026. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Last week’s irregular entry of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco to Ceuta left 77 people dead in the Spanish north African territory, officials said on Tuesday, raising a previous toll of 75.
Many migrants drowned as they tried to swim around a barrier in the Mediterranean Sea from July 30 in scenes that sparked a diplomatic crisis between Spain and its EU partners.
A Spanish legal body responsible for the identification work, composed of forensics and Civil Guard experts, said in a statement that authorities in Ceuta had recovered 79 bodies from the sea.
But two of them were taken on July 29 and early on July 30, before the surge, leaving a toll of 77, the statement added.
