At least 19 people died after about 49,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in a single day, prompting both countries to reinforce controls along the European Union’s border with Africa.

Spain and Morocco moved to halt further crossings on July 31 after the unprecedented influx overwhelmed the small territory, Reuters reported, citing Spanish authorities. Moroccan security forces deployed water cannon near the frontier, while Spain sent additional personnel to Ceuta.

Some of those who died drowned while attempting to reach the territory by sea, while others were killed in a stampede near Tarajal beach, the Associated Press reported, citing a local representative of Spain’s Civil Guard.

The influx was equivalent to more than half of Ceuta’s population of about 85,000 and far exceeded the roughly 8,000 people who entered during a migration crisis in 2021.

Reception facilities were overwhelmed, leaving migrants, including families and unaccompanied children, sleeping in parks and on streets. Ceuta’s regional authorities called on the Spanish government to declare a national emergency and provide additional security and humanitarian support.

Spanish authorities said they would seek to return people who had entered irregularly. Some officials linked the scale of the crossing to a recent Supreme Court ruling restricting the immediate return of migrants arriving by sea without due process, although the reason for the mass movement remained unclear.

The crisis also prompted political tensions within the EU after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni threatened measures affecting Spain’s participation in the Schengen free-travel area. Spain rejected the criticism and said it would summon Italy’s ambassador.

Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two territories on Morocco’s northern coast, form the EU’s only land borders with Africa and are frequent targets for migrants seeking to enter the bloc.

Spain recorded 3,523 irregular land arrivals in Ceuta in 2025, up 39% from 2,531 in 2024 and more than triple the 1,068 recorded in 2023, according to Interior Ministry data. Sea arrivals into Ceuta were far smaller, at four in 2025, 28 in 2024 and 67 in 2023.

The pressure continued to rise in 2026. A total of 2,826 people entered Ceuta irregularly by land between January 1 and July 15, compared with 1,133 in the same period of 2025, an increase of 149%. That figure predates the latest mass crossing and illustrates how exceptional the estimated one-day influx of 49,000 was.

The previous major crisis came in May 2021, when about 8,000 people entered Ceuta over two days after Moroccan border controls were relaxed amid a diplomatic dispute with Spain. The latest estimated influx was therefore more than six times larger and occurred within about half the time.

Across the EU, however, the broader trend had been downward before the Ceuta crisis. Frontex recorded just over 49,000 irregular border-crossing detections in the first half of 2026, down 37% year on year, although detections on the Western Mediterranean route rose 17% to 7,860. Frontex figures count detections rather than necessarily distinct individuals.