Hundreds of migrants attempt to swim from Morocco to Spain’s Ceuta in North Africa

Ilayda Cakirtekin

Hundreds of migrants have attempted to swim from Morocco to the Spanish city of Ceuta in North Africa, while the number of arrivals exceeded 1,500 in just over a week, EFE news agency reported Thursday.

As Moroccan and Algerian migrants attempted to reach Ceuta by swimming, most were reportedly intercepted by Moroccan patrol boats on Wednesday.

Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service and the Spanish Red Cross rescued 117 people from the water, while the Civil Guard assisted around 200 others with patrol boats.

As the exact number remained officially unconfirmed, most migrants were reported to be young adults aged 18-30, alongside many minors.

The Spanish Civil Guard also found two bodies.

The discoveries raised the death toll along Ceuta’s coastline so far this year to 29, including 10 bodies recovered in July, six of them since the latest migration surge began on Saturday.

Local authorities reported that over 1,500 people have entered Ceuta by swimming in just over a week.