Spain’s Ceuta overwhelmed as thousands remain after migrant border rush

Hundreds of migrants set up camp on a beach in Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta on Monday as local authorities struggled to cope with the thousands still in the tiny territory after a massive border rush last week.

Hundreds of migrants set up camp on a beach in Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta on Monday as local authorities struggled to cope with the thousands still in the tiny territory after a massive border rush last week.

Spain estimates that about 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco over the past four days, exceeding initial estimates of around 50,000 arrivals in Ceuta on Thursday. The official death toll on the Spanish side of the border stands at 72, with 11 deaths on the Moroccan side.

Many said they left as shop closures had left them without food, they encountered hostility from locals and they were unable to travel on to the Spanish mainland.

Ceuta and Spain’s other North African exclave, Melilla, sit on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast and periodically face attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.

Add NBC News to GoogleSpain ramps up security amid migrant crisis01:42Reuters video showed scores of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, lying on the sand of El Trampolin beach. Many were wrapped in towels to shield from the wind, while army and police vehicles patrolled the road behind them.