Almost 9000 migrants swim into Spain in a single day

The Spanish army has been deployed in Ceuta, on the beach of El Tarajal, to control the entry of migrants into Spain

At least 5,000 undocumented immigrants have managed to enter Spain illegally throughout Monday, according to the Government Delegation in Ceuta city at the end of the day. Government sources have told Spanish media that the count in progress indicates that some 1,500 of them may be minors, pending the relevant tests to determine this extent.

The largest number of arrivals was registered between 16:30 and 19:00. The migrants swam or arrived by rudimentary means from the neighbouring town of Fnideq, along a breakwater that marks the border between the Morocco and Spain.

One of the migrants has died, according newspapers, and some 4.000, which is half of those who arrived in the early hours of Tuesday morning, had already been returned to Morocco, according to police sources. The arrival took place without any resistance from the Moroccan authorities and after several weeks in which Morocco has decided to tighten diplomatic ties with Madrid.

The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, has supported Spain in the situation in Ceuta and warned Morocco on Tuesday that its border with Ceuta is also a “border with the European Union”. “Spanish borders are European borders. The European Union wants to build relations with Morocco based on trust and with the same commitments. Migration is the key element in this”, Ylva Johansson said.