Swimming becomes a recurring pattern
The maritime surveillance centre issues a first infographic on entries into Ceuta by swimming. Others follow on 9, 16 and 23 July.
At Tarajal, the crossing by sea
At dawn, groups reached Ceuta by swimming around the Tarajal and Benzú breakwaters, while others crossed at land entry points. The images show a continuous flow, made up mostly of young Moroccans. The first estimates published by the authorities were later revised.
Spain’s Interior Ministry would later put the number of entries on 30 July at between 50,000 and 60,000. The consolidated count cited in September puts the two days at about 72,000. 1 Spanish Interior Ministry
Situation map. The diagram isolates the two types of crossing at Tarajal. Benzú is another sector, outside the frame. The arrows represent neither an individual route nor a measured distance.
A precise warning, an unknown scale
The CNI sends the Moroccan services a note pointing to online calls for a coordinated entry the following day, through the fence and by sea.
72,000 entries, an order of magnitude
The 600 dots represent about 72,000 entries, at a rate of 120 per dot: the estimate reported by AP on 9 September. The movement is illustrative, with no time scale; it is neither a tracking of people nor a measurement of live flows.
Moroccodeparture
600 dots≈ 72,000 crossings
Ceutaarrival
Source: AP, 9 September 2026. The dots repeat in a graphic loop; their movement does not produce a new count.
The death toll changes with the counts
Before the 3 September appearance, AP reported a death toll of 96 based on the authorities in Ceuta and Morocco’s National Human Rights Council. NGOs put the number at 141. On 3 September, Pedro Sánchez himself cited 141 deaths in parliament. The two figures below document that shift. 2 AP, 3 September
96 deathstoll from Ceuta authorities and the CNDH, before 3 September, reported by AP
141 deathscounts by associations; figure cited by Sánchez on 3 September
Bodies were found on both sides of the border. El País’s 31 August report describes families’ searches and counts by associations in the morgues of Tétouan and Tangier. The publication of a political figure does not replace the identification of victims. El País, 31 August.
How to read the figures
These tolls overlap: they should not be added together. Missing people are not automatically counted as dead.
Warnings before 30 July
On 9 September, the Spanish government published 40 reports and communications dated from 1 to 31 July. They document an increase in people crossing by swimming, followed by explicit calls on social media. 3 Declassified file
What the documents do not establish: orchestration by the Moroccan government. They note passivity by Moroccan forces during the critical phase; Madrid says it has no evidence of a political decision by Rabat. The investigation remains open.
The CNI calls for heightened vigilance
A situation note describes migratory pressure and circulates among national and local authorities.
A rendezvous spreads online
An urgent note mentions calls to cross the fence or go around the border by sea from 8pm the following day. It is sent to the Moroccan services.
The phenomenon changes scale
Operational reports describe numerous simultaneous attempts. The warning becomes an event already under way.
Cooperation resumes
After about 10 hours of acute permeability, Moroccan forces restored control, according to the account given by the Spanish government to parliament.
A second check towards the peninsula
Schengen law applies to Ceuta and Melilla under a specific regime. Departures by boat or plane to mainland Spain are checked. On 1 August, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said that none of the people who entered on 30 July had left Ceuta for the peninsula. 4 Foreign Ministry, 1 August
The regularisation announced in January 2026 required, among other things, presence in Spain before 1 January 2026. An arrival in Ceuta on 30 July could not meet that criterion, the ministry said.
1
Morocco–Ceuta border
Land fence, crossing points and maritime ends at Tarajal and Benzú.
2
Identification and individual procedure
Identity check, vulnerability assessment, possible asylum claim or return procedure. For an unaccompanied minor, the best interests of the child must be assessed case by case.
3
Port or airport check
Passage to the peninsula is not automatic. This second check sets the Spanish city apart from the rest of the Schengen area.
Crossing the border, the right to stay and travel to the peninsula are covered by separate procedures.
The border before 2026
Ceuta and Melilla: two cities, the same exception
Ceuta, at the threshold of the strait
Ceuta lies on the African shore, at the eastern entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. Tarajal and Benzú sit at the two coastal ends of the border perimeter.
Embedded playback requires JavaScript. The full film remains accessible via the link above.
The border was also a workplace
Heavy bundles, bent bodies, a road to cover: this excerpt documents the work of female porters in Melilla before the recent crises.
It recalls another dimension of these cities: their daily exchanges with the surrounding Moroccan area. They are also places to live and work, not only security perimeters.
Five centuries of presence, 30 years of European control
Spain regards Ceuta and Melilla as two sovereign cities; Morocco claims them. Since Spain joined Schengen, their perimeter has also become the European Union’s only land border with Africa.
Melilla
A Spanish presence on the North African coast
Melilla is taken by Castilian forces. Its contemporary status remains disputed by Morocco, while Spain regards it as an integral part of its territory.
Read all historical markers
- 1497 · Melilla. Taken by Castilian forces.
- 1580 · Ceuta. The city, Portuguese since 1415, comes under the Iberian monarchy; it remains Spanish after Portugal’s restoration in 1640.
- 1995 · Schengen. The agreement comes into force in Spain, with a special regime for the two cities.
- 2005 · Ceuta and Melilla. Deadly attempts to cross are followed by reinforcement of the fences.
- 6 February 2014 · Tarajal. At least 14 people drown. Amnesty International documents the use of riot-control equipment.
- May 2021 · Ceuta. About 9,000 arrivals in two days, against a backdrop of diplomatic crisis. European Parliament.
- 24 June 2022 · Melilla. Twenty-three deaths announced by Morocco; at least 37 according to UN experts, cited by Human Rights Watch.
- July–August 2026 · Ceuta. The influx is followed by the installation of a pneumatic barrier at Tarajal. Interior Ministry.
Reception and procedures after the crossings
Within 72 hours, about 63,000 people were returned to Morocco, according to the Spanish government. For those who remained in Ceuta, the emergency shifted to shelter, identification, asylum, returns and child protection.
On 25 August, Spain declared for the first time under this mechanism a “situation of interest for national security” in Ceuta, until 31 December. This declaration coordinates the state’s civilian resources; it does not suspend fundamental rights. 5 BOE
63 000
returns within 72 hours
Figure given by the Spanish government, which describes them as returns to Morocco. Rights groups are calling for scrutiny of the conditions and whether they were voluntary.
≈ 1 100
estimated unaccompanied minors
Estimate by the local government reported in the September EPRS note, including minors who arrived before and during the influx. This dated count does not measure all arrivals of minors since July.
€309m
mobilised by Madrid
Package announced on 1 September for security, reception, public services and the local economy, said to be equivalent to 16% of Ceuta’s GDP.
40
documents made public
Reports and communications from the police, the Guardia Civil and intelligence services covering the month of July.
UNICEF Spain stresses that no unaccompanied child may be returned or transferred without an individual assessment and without the guarantees provided by Spanish and international law. Read the full position.
Three sequences, three points of view
The videos open with their original publisher. The screens below are graphic markers, not still frames: no image of a person in distress is reproduced outside its editorial context.
The reporting links preserve the images, sound and captions with their original publisher. The photographic archives and documentary excerpt embedded in this file are credited separately.
As of 14 September, reception and procedures are continuing in Ceuta.
Investigations into responsibilities, the identification of victims and care for those still present remain open. The reports published on 9 September add evidence to the timeline of warnings.
State of information: 14 September 2026. The human toll and the number of people still present in Ceuta may change. Corrections must preserve the date, source and scope of the new count.