Spain says migrant crossings into Ceuta stopped overnight
Spanish authorities have halted a massive surge of migrants entering the North African territory of Ceuta from Morocco. The government has deployed a new floating barrier to secure the border following a crisis that saw thousands of arrivals and multiple fatalities.
Why it matters
This incident highlights ongoing tensions regarding migration at the EU's only land borders with Africa and has prompted an emergency response from European Union officials.
Spain has said that migrant crossings into its North African territory of Ceuta stopped overnight, as police began installing a 500-metre floating barrier off its border with Morocco.
It comes after around 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta by land and sea from Thursday , in an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union's only land borders with Africa.
At least 67 people died in the attempt, according to Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
More than 48,000 migrants have returned to Morocco within 48 hours without major incident, Spain said.
Reuters footage showed Spanish soldiers and police patrolling a mostly empty Tarajal beach shrouded in fog.
Civil Guard police started laying the new barrier at 7.50am local time on the Tarajal breakwater, one of the main points used by people trying to enter the tiny Spanish territory, the government said in a statement.
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