The bodies of 60 migrants who drowned in Ceuta have been recovered

60 bodies have been recovered on the coast of Ceuta after the massive influx of migrants in the last two days. The Guardia Civil continues searches in the area around the Tarajal breakwater, where almost all the bodies were found. With these deaths, the number of migrants who died in 2026 while trying to swim to Ceuta has risen to 92.

Security forces and emergency services continue to recover the bodies of people who jumped into the sea from the Moroccan coast of Castillejos in an attempt to swim to Ceuta and the number of victims is expected to continue to rise in the coming hours.

Sanchez to EU: “Some reactions are worrying”

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, sent a letter to the European institutions to complain about the attitude of some countries regarding the migrant crisis in Ceuta and asked for an urgent meeting of the EU Interior Ministers. This was reported by El Pais. The letter, sent to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and to the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, expresses “serious concern” about the reaction of some European governments to the mass irregular crossing of the border by thousands of people in the Spanish exclave in Morocco.

Sanchez does not mention specific countries in the letter, but the reference seems to be to the Italian government’s decision to suspend the Schengen Agreement with Spain. The Spanish prime minister denounces that some countries acted “out of prejudice, misinformation, ignorance or political interest” in asking for the temporary exclusion of Spain from the Schengen area. According to the text, reported by some Spanish media, Madrid considers these reactions “selfish, polarizing and illegitimate”.

The socialist prime minister then asked the European Council to urgently convene an extraordinary video conference with the EU Interior Ministers. “This meeting should allow us to define a common response to situations of this type and to reaffirm that the security of our external borders is a responsibility shared by all Member States, and not just those on the front lines of the Union”, says Sanchez in the letter.

Solidarity and empathy are optional.

Respect for European treaties and data, no.

Number of irregular entries between 2021 and 2026 according to Frontex:

Por Italy: 478,600
For the Western Balkans: 340,600
For Greece: 259,800
Por España: 234,760
Por la…

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 31, 2026

About 60 thousand people reached Ceuta

The tragedy comes after two days of unprecedented influx into the Spanish enclave in North Africa. Around 60 thousand migrants, mostly Moroccan, have reached Ceuta from neighboring Morocco, crossing the land border or trying to swim to the Tarajal area. The influx has put the autonomous city’s reception facilities under great pressure and forced Madrid to deploy the army in support of the Guardia Civil and to strengthen patrols at sea.

After the first hours of chaos, Moroccan authorities also strengthened controls on their side of the border, helping to stop new crossings. The vast majority of people who entered Ceuta have since returned to Morocco. The crisis remains substantially limited to the enclave and there are no reports of transfers of migrants to mainland Spain.

The clash between Italy and Spain

The crisis has also had repercussions on relations between Rome and Madrid. The Italian government has decided to temporarily reintroduce border controls on air and sea connections with Spain, suspending the free movement regime provided by Schengen for non-European citizens for a limited period of time. The measure does not change travel conditions for citizens of Italy, Spain and other European Union countries.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni motivated the decision with the need to “protect national security and prevent possible repercussions” for Italy, ensuring that the controls will remain in force only for the time necessary and with the aim of limiting the impact on summer tourist flows. Rome also announced the strengthening of controls at the land border with France.

Madrid defended the management of the emergency and the integrity of the Schengen area, while Brussels assured operational support to Spain for the control of the external border of the European Union.