Shafaqna Pakistan: Around 100 people died during last week’s massive border surge into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, the city’s leader, Juan Jesus Vivas, said on Thursday during a meeting of the European Parliament.
Vivas also said that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants remain in Ceuta following the large-scale influx.
Earlier, hundreds of migrants had set up makeshift camps on a beach in the enclave as local authorities struggled to manage the thousands who entered the small territory during the border rush.
According to Spanish authorities, about 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco over the past four days, surpassing earlier estimates that around 50,000 people had crossed into Ceuta.
Many said they left as shop closures had left them without food, they encountered hostility from locals and they were unable to travel on to the Spanish mainland.
Ceuta and Spain’s other North African enclave, Melilla, sit on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast and periodically face attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Reuters video showed scores of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, lying on the sand of El Trampolin beach.
Many were wrapped in towels to shield from the wind, while army and police vehicles patrolled the road behind them.
