The Crisis In Ceuta Is Subsiding

• 2.08.2026, 17:38

More than 73,000 migrants have returned to Morocco.

About 73,500 migrants have already left the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Morocco.

This was reported by EFE.

According to estimates by the State Security Service, approximately 73,500 migrants have left Ceuta following the mass influx. These figures may also include those who arrived in the city several days before the breach, as well as people who entered and left multiple times.

At the same time, groups of migrants who refuse to return voluntarily are still present in the central streets of Ceuta, especially on the outskirts and in wooded areas.

According to police sources, it is difficult to estimate their number, but small groups of three to five people are still visible in various areas.

The government delegate in Ceuta Miguel Ángel Pérez has raised the number of bodies recovered from the sea to 72. He noted that prior to Thursday’s mass breakout, authorities had no information indicating that such an event might occur.

The United Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) cites even higher figures—it estimates that more than 100 people died during the breach.

According to the association, nearly 60,000 people attempted to enter the city that day, marking the largest migration crisis in Ceuta’s history.

The Ministry of the Interior reported that the marine containment barriers installed around the breakwater are fully operational. This is a 500-meter-long pneumatic barrier, 30 to 70 centimeters above the surface, which extends one meter underwater and is supplemented by a line of buoys secured by the Navy.

Border crossings this morning proceeded as usual, although an increase in traffic is expected in the coming hours due to Operation “Crossing the Strait.” Authorities say the city is gradually returning to normal life, although “there is still a lot of work ahead.”