Moroccan human-rights groups now put the death toll linked to the mass crossing at the Ceuta-Morocco border at 141. The crisis unfolded on 30 and 31 July, when more than 72,000 people entered Ceuta irregularly from Morocco in a land-and-sea crossing, information from figures cited by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The FRA also cited Spanish media reports of at least 88 deaths. Later institutional and humanitarian tallies were higher, reflecting different definitions of the toll, including whether missing people and deaths on either side of the border were counted.
Humanitarian monitoring organization Caminando Fronteras has counted 145 deaths: 67 bodies recovered in Moroccan territory and 78 in Ceuta. It said its count relied on identifying bodies in the field and working with victims’ families and communities. A Spanish National Court investigation, meanwhile, recorded 83 bodies recovered in Spanish waters. In a resolution issued on 7 September, investigating judge María Tardón described deaths from drowning, crushing or related causes during the swim toward Ceuta. The separate totals reflect different geographic and counting scopes, while the overall toll remains tied to identifying victims and determining the fate of people still missing.
Official recognition has developed alongside disputes over identification and the handling of remains. Morocco has confirmed 11 deaths on its side of the border, attributing one to a fall from rocky terrain near Ceuta and the others to drowning. Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi said forensic records were needed to establish the nationalities of the deceased: “We want their case files to determine whether they are Moroccan, from sub-Saharan Africa or from other Arab countries.” The identification process has also left a lasting mark in Ceuta. Bloomberg reported that about 90 people were buried in the Sidi Embarek Muslim cemetery after the crossings, but only nine had been identified by late September, leaving 81 graves unnamed.
The mass movement followed online messages claiming that Spain’s border with Ceuta was open and that people who reached the enclave could remain without legal consequences. The Global Initiative for Justice reported that Morocco’s Interior Ministry confirmed an online campaign promoting the claim that “the Spanish border was open to anyone who reached Ceuta.” Attempts to cross by land and large groups entering the water created a dangerous maritime emergency. Most people who entered Ceuta later returned to Morocco. The episode also put exceptional pressure on reception facilities and raised concerns over the right to life and allegations of excessive force, particularly in the protection of children.
The legal response has included prosecutions and calls for independent scrutiny. The original proceedings described in the case involved 11 people sentenced to up to six months in prison, 34 people charged in Tétouan, including five minors, and 52 facing prosecution in Nador over attempted crossings toward Melilla. In later reporting, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) said more than 60 people had been prosecuted in Nador, including 18 minors, and that 69 people, among them 11 minors, remained in pretrial detention in Tétouan. AMDH called for an independent investigation into responsibility for deaths and related abuses. It also urged protection for minors and identification and transfer of bodies to families, along with clarification of the whereabouts of missing people.
The crossings formed part of a wider period of high mortality on migration routes. The FRA, citing the International Organization for Migration, reported that at least 852 people died or went missing on Mediterranean routes and the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands between 1 July and 30 September 2026. For more context on how border tensions have disrupted daily life and cross-border routines in Ceuta, see this analysis: how stricter controls are reshaping local realities.
Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two autonomous cities in North Africa, have long been focal points for migration from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa. The July crossings intensified scrutiny of border security and humanitarian conditions, as well as cooperation between Spanish and Moroccan authorities. The 141 deaths reported by Moroccan NGOs, alongside higher humanitarian estimates and unresolved identification cases, show the human consequences of the emergency and the continuing effort to establish who died and inform their families.
