Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Thousands of migrants swim from Morocco to Spanish enclave of Ceuta

Thousands of migrants swim from Morocco to Spanish enclave of Ceuta

At least 6,000 people, including around 1,500 minors, swam from Morocco to the bordering Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Monday in the largest influx of illegal migration there in a single day, Spanish authorities said.

The migrants swam from two locations, with some entering southern Ceuta at Tarajal beach, and a larger group entering the north of the city at Benzu beach, a spokesman for the Spanish government in Ceuta told CNN.

One man drowned in the process, the spokesman added.

At both locations, migrants swam around rocky breakwaters jutting out into the Mediterranean that mark the border between the countries. The spokesman said it was a short distance in each case.

Ceuta is an enclave of some 84,000 Spaniards on Morocco's north coast and, crucially for migrants attempting to enter, it is on European Union soil.

Migrants swam around rocky breakwaters jutting out into the Mediterranean that mark the frontier.


"I have never seen a situation like this one, it is unprecedented, I have never felt so frustrated and sad," Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas, told Spanish broadcaster TVE on Tuesday.

"This is a chaotic situation, so chaotic that we can't tell the exact number of migrants at the moment," he added. "We need to gather all the ones who have arrived and allocate them in a specific location, so they are not just wondering around the border."


The Red Cross has been assisting migrants with dry clothes, blankets and food at Tarajal beach. The charity's spokeswoman, Isabel Brasero, told Spanish TVE that the migrants included babies, and so far all who made the journey around the breakwater appear to be in good health.

She added that the migrants were probably helped by favorable weather and the short distance they swam.

Border flashpoint


Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday he would travel to both of his country's enclaves on Morocco's north coast: Ceuta and the city of Melilla, which lies further east.

Sanchez promised to "reinstate the order," and said Spain will return "immediately" all those who entered illegally, as allowed, he added, by existing agreements between Spain and Morocco.

Indeed, around 2,700 people have already been returned to Morocco, Spain's Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, told Spanish TV on Tuesday.

A Guardia Civil officer rescues people from the water.


Spain's Interior Ministry said in a statement that it is reinforcing the police contingent in Ceuta. It added that Spain and Morocco recently agreed that Moroccans who swim into Spain face a return to Morocco through one of the land border crossings.

The land border of several miles between Ceuta and Morocco has a tall fence. It is a flashpoint for the migration of sub-Saharan Africans trying to enter Spain, and the European Union, in groups.

Ylva Johansson, European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs, wrote on Twitter that it was "worrying" that so many people, a large number of them children, were endangering their lives by swimming to Ceuta.

"The most important thing now is that Morocco continues to commit to prevent irregular departures and that those that do not have the right to stay are orderly and effectively returned," she added.

A man is taken on a stretcher by members of the emergency services and the Spanish army.


Spain has seen an increase in migrants arriving on its shores in recent months.

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, says that "more than 1,000 irregular migrants reached the Canary Islands in April, three times the total from the same month of last year.

"In the January-April period, nearly 4,500 irregular migrants arrived on the Canary Islands, more than double the total from the same period of 2020.

Nationals from sub-Saharan countries, most claiming to be from Mali and Morocco, accounted for the largest number of arrivals."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×