Hundreds of migrants have made attempts to swim from Morocco to the Spanish North African city of Ceuta, with the number of arrivals surpassing 1,500 in slightly more than a week, according to a report by EFE news agency on Thursday.
Many Moroccan and Algerian migrants tried to cross the waters to Ceuta by swimming, but most were intercepted by Moroccan patrol boats on Wednesday, reports said.
Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service and the Spanish Red Cross rescued 117 people from the sea, while the Civil Guard provided assistance to about 200 others using patrol vessels.
Although the official number of people involved in the crossings had not been confirmed, reports indicated that most of those attempting the journey were young adults between the ages of 18 and 30, along with a significant number of minors.
The Spanish Civil Guard also recovered two bodies during the operation.
The discovery brought the number of deaths recorded along Ceuta’s coastline this year to 29, including 10 bodies found in July alone. Six of those deaths have been recorded since the latest surge in migration attempts began on Saturday.
Local authorities said more than 1,500 migrants have arrived in Ceuta by swimming within a period of just over one week.
