Spain has begun installing a 500-metre floating barrier off the coast of its North African enclave of Ceuta after a mass migrant rush from Morocco left at least 67 people dead.
Spanish authorities said migrant crossings into Ceuta stopped overnight as Civil Guard officers started laying the pneumatic barrier along the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main entry points into the territory.
The barrier, supported by anchored naval buoys, will stand between 30 and 70 centimetres above the water and extend up to one metre below the surface. A channel between the barriers will allow Civil Guard vessels to patrol the area.
Spain said about 50,000 people crossed into Ceuta by land and sea from Thursday in an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. More than 48,000 were returned to Morocco within 48 hours.
The mass crossing has prompted concern across the EU, with 22 member states calling for coordinated action to strengthen the bloc’s external borders. Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has convened an emergency video conference of EU interior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticised Italy’s decision to suspend passport-free Schengen travel arrangements with Spain for one month.
He said, “In the current international context, the EU cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction.”
Officials said at least 67 bodies had been recovered on the Spanish side of the border after some migrants drowned while others were crushed trying to climb the breakwater and border fence.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska blamed people-smuggling networks for exploiting vulnerable migrants and spreading misinformation about a recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling.
He said, “Morocco isn’t any threat to Ceuta or the rest of Spain — it’s a fully reliable partner,” adding that there had been no intelligence indicating a mass entry was imminent.
The government said people who entered Ceuta irregularly would not be allowed to travel onwards to mainland Spain or elsewhere in the Schengen area, with police identity checks remaining in place for all departures by sea and air.
Spain also rejected claims that its programme to regularise more than half a million undocumented migrants encouraged the rush into Ceuta, saying applicants must prove they were living in the country before January 1, 2026, and had maintained continuous residence for at least five months.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
