{"id":2871,"date":"2026-07-31T08:39:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/31\/at-least-18-die-trying-to-cross-to-spanish-enclave-of-ceuta-from-morocco\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T08:39:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:39:49","slug":"at-least-18-die-trying-to-cross-to-spanish-enclave-of-ceuta-from-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2871","title":{"rendered":"At least 18 die trying to cross to Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"746aeb6d-f0a8-4487-a313-535bba061568\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People climb out of the sea on to a rocky shore\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/bfe4080ee8b385249f1a00b5fc4c3c8555c8cd24\/574_0_3446_2756\/master\/3446.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.89204875217644\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">People try to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Thursday.<\/span> Photograph: Antonio Sempere\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"746aeb6d-f0a8-4487-a313-535bba061568\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">People try to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Thursday.<\/span> Photograph: Antonio Sempere\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">At least 18 die as 49,000 cross to Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Some drowned and others caught up in crush, official says, and thousands sleep on streets or in parks<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">At least 18 people have died trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after about 49,000 migrants breached the border with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/morocco\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Morocco<\/a> and poured into the tiny territory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Spain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jul\/30\/thousands-enter-spanish-enclave-ceuta-morocco-africa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">sent \u200bmilitary and police reinforcements<\/a> to Ceuta on Thursday after people crossed by land and sea. Spain\u2019s prime minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, is expected to join the interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, on a visit to Ceuta on Friday morning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a \u201cserious humanitarian crisis\u201d. He said: \u201cPeople are still entering. The reinforcements that have arrived are only helping the injured and other humanitarian efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Without shelter, thousands of people including unaccompanied children were left sleeping in parks and on pavements while others roamed the streets aimlessly, Sbihi said. \u201cIt\u2019s chaotic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Among the 18 who died, many drowned but some were killed in a crush to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, Sbihi said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Video footage on Thursday showed crowds of people walking around the breakwaters at Tarajal beach on to local roads. While most appeared to be young men, there were also families with women and small children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cViva Espa\u00f1a!\u201d some shouted to a freelance photographer working for the AP. It was not immediately clear what prompted so many people to cross to Ceuta.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Ceuta, along with Melilla, \u2060another Spanish autonomous city in northern \u200bMorocco, has the E\u200b\u2019s only land border with \u200bAfrica. \u200cBoth cities \u200bperiodically \u200bexperience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><em>More details soon \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/spain\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Spain<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/morocco\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Morocco<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/europe-news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Europe<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=At%20least%2018%20die%20as%2049,000%20cross%20to%20Spanish%20enclave%20of%20Ceuta%20from%20Morocco&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jul\/31\/ceuta-spain-morocco-border-deaths?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2026%2Fjul%2F31%2Fceuta-spain-morocco-border-deaths&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=world\/2026\/jul\/31\/ceuta-spain-morocco-border-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People try to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Thursday. Photograph: Antonio Sempere\/AP View image in fullscreen People try to cross from Morocco into the Spanish &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=2871\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}