More than 100 people, including children, took dangerous trips, some of whom used swimming rings and rubber boats.
According to the local government, more than one hundred people, including two families with children, swam from Morocco for one night on Monday and entered the neighboring Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
A spokesman for the Guardia civilian police force said that these migrants and refugees were detained when they entered a small Spanish territory from the beaches south of Ceuta.
A spokesperson for the Spanish government delegation in Ceuta said that most of them are young people, but there are also children and women.
The spokesperson told AFP that some of them use inflatable swimming laps, while others use inflatable boats.
He said: “The tide was very low, and in some places you could almost walk past it.”
Agence France-Presse reported that Red Cross staff inspected migrants and refugees before sending them to reception centers.
A spokesperson for the Spanish government delegation to Ceuta told the Associated Press that the Spanish authorities are in contact with their Moroccan counterparts, but it is too early to say whether to deport Morocco.
The spokesperson, who was not given permission by his name, said he could not tell the exact number of people crossing the road, but confirmed that there were “more than 100 people.”
The spokesperson added that the police are in the process of determining their identities.
Life-threatening journey
Ceuta and nearby Melilla, another Spanish enclave in North Africa, is the only land border between the European Union and the continent, making it for those seeking a better life in Europe Popular entry point.
Every year, hundreds of people try to jump over fences, hide in cars or swim around breakwaters that extend to the Mediterranean, risking injury or death.
A 10-meter (32-foot) double fence surrounds Ceuta’s southwest border with Morocco for 8 kilometers (5 miles), and the remaining small territory faces the Strait of Gibraltar and the European continent across the Mediterranean.
By the end of April, more than 100 young Moroccans had swam into Spanish territory, and most of them had returned to their country within 48 hours after being confirmed as adults.
Spain does not grant asylum status to Morocco.
It only allows unaccompanied children to stay in the country legally under government supervision.
