Ceuta demands national emergency as migrant swimmers push death toll to 30 in a week

Surge in arrivals

Since the evening of 29 July, around 130 Moroccan minors have swum into Ceuta, adding to a wave that began around 20 July. The Salvamar Atria and Red Cross vessel LS Hipatia rescued 99 people during the early hours of 30 July, including 69 adults, four boys and two girls. The previous day, 117 were pulled from the water between midnight and 15:00. In total, more than 1,700 people have entered Ceuta by sea in the past week, according to the city government, with some estimates placing the figure at around 2,000 since 20 July. The flow is accelerating: around 200 made it across on the night of 29 July alone, and the daily rate now stands at roughly 300, "and rising", Vivas said.

Rising death toll

The dangerous swim has claimed more lives. On 29 July, the Guardia Civil recovered two bodies from the waters off Ceuta – a young man in a swimsuit, already decomposing, found near Almadraba at 07:00, and another man aged 25–30 in a wetsuit, located near Piedra del Pineo at 14:30. A further body was discovered on the morning of 30 July, bringing the total number of dead migrants found on Ceuta's coastline this year to 30. Ten of those deaths occurred in July, six since the previous Saturday. The real toll may be higher, as it is unknown how many bodies have washed up on the Moroccan side.

Facilities at breaking point

The Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes (CETI), designed for 512 people, now holds over 700. Outside its gates, between 800 and 1,000 mostly Moroccan men wait to be registered by the National Police, sleeping on cardboard and under Red Cross blankets. The city has reopened two additional centres for minors, whose numbers have climbed from 420 on Tuesday to 570 on Wednesday and 700 by Thursday. A group of 39 sub-Saharan migrants was transferred to mainland Spain on Wednesday to relieve pressure, a routine measure during saturation episodes.

Salí a las tres de la madrugada desde la playa de Castillejos. A las cinco llegué a la del Tarajal. Lo hice solo, nadando sin aletas, sin neopreno, sin flotador. Casi me quedo congelado. Hacía mucho, mucho frío.

Mohamed, a 23-year-old Moroccan who previously lived in Barcelona, said he returned to Morocco to visit family and then swam back because he lacks legal residency. He estimated that more than 3,000 people are waiting on Moroccan beaches to cross, and that gendarmes cannot control the crowds.

Political response

Ceuta president Juan Jesús Vivas has labelled the situation a "crisis migratoria" and is pressing the Spanish government to declare a national emergency and establish a single command to coordinate the response. "Hay que abordarlo desde esa perspectiva, como una emergencia nacional a través de una acción decidida, enérgica, proporcional, contundente, inmediata y que esté coordinada a través de un mando único," he told Cadena Ser. Vivas noted that the 1,500 arrivals in a week represent nearly 2% of Ceuta's population. He said he is in permanent contact with the government delegation and several ministers, and expects his request to be understood. The government delegate, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, is scheduled to hold a press conference at 17:00 on 30 July.

A wider pattern

The Guardia Civil's unified association (AUGC) warns of a potential "tragedia humanitaria", citing strong currents, breakwaters, and the presence of small children among the swimmers. The association links the surge to a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that guarantees legal assistance and an administrative procedure for sea arrivals before any return, effectively suspending fast-track returns to Morocco. "Los agentes dicen que están haciendo de taxistas," an AUGC spokesperson said, describing how officers now ferry migrants ashore instead of intercepting them. Meanwhile, Melilla is also seeing an uptick: daily CETI admissions have multiplied by eight since 20 July, averaging 17 per day, as swimmers cross from the Beni Enzar port breakwater.