Migrant deaths in Ceuta rise to 72 after border surge from Morocco
Al Jazeera – News
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At least 72 people have died after around 60,000 migrants surged across the border from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta over the past few days. Five more bodies were found along Ceuta’s coastline on Sunday as Spanish authorities said more than 1,000 people had been treated by health services since the surge began on Thursday. While more than 48,000 of those who crossed had returned to Morocco within 48 hours, the crisis has prompted 22 European Union member states to call for coordinated border action, Italy to suspend passport-free Schengen travel with Spain and Spanish authorities to install a floating barrier off Ceuta’s coast. The situation in the city had improved markedly by Sunday, but more had to be done to re-establish normality, the Spanish government representative in Ceuta, Miguel Angel Perez, told reporters and confirmed the death toll. The Spanish news agency EFE reported that the death toll is expected to increase. The Spanish Civil Guard has begun the process of identifying the 72 bodies already found. The collection of fingerprints and DNA samples will be completed by the end of next week at the latest, said Carlos Atuchi, an official with the Civil Guard’s forensic science department. Some of the migrants who died drowned, while others were crushed while trying to climb a breakwater and border fence. “It pains me deeply that young people are dying at sea. If we don’t have a decent job, we should go on strike and demand our rights from the government. Ceuta, together with Melilla – another autonomous Spanish city in North Africa – represents the EU’s only land border with Africa.
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Five more bodies have been found along Ceuta's coastline as enclave recovers from unprecedented border influx.
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