Madrid
Reuters
–
At least 54 children and around 30 adults have swam from Morocco into the rough seas and mists of Enreve, Spain’s North African country, Spanish television reported on Saturday.
Video footage from Spanish television channel RTVE showed civil security launches repeatedly made rescue attempts, leading some of the swimmers to safety, showing others swimming in the enclave.
Children, mostly Moroccan, were taken to a temporary centre in Ceuta, where authorities sought the help of the central government in dealing with the latest arrivals.
“Please don’t leave us alone. This is a state issue. This needs to be resolved,” Juan Rivas, Ceuta Regional Government’s government, told reporters on Saturday.
On August 26th last year, hundreds of migrants swam to Ceuta from nearby Morocco, local police said. In 2021, a boy was seen floating above an empty plastic bottle in his attempt to reach Ceuta.
Two Spanish enclaves in Morocco’s Mediterranean coast, Ceuta and Merilla, share the European Union’s only land border with Africa. The enclave sporadically experiences waves of attempted crossings by migrants trying to reach Europe.
Moroccan citizens detained during the intersection will be sent back to Morocco immediately, unless they are seeking minors or asylum.
People of other nationalities are taken to special centres where they are given shelter and released a few days later.
Three years ago, at least 23 people died on Stampede when around 2,000 migrants tried to rush into Merira and pushed down a border fence.
