‘People are dying here’: Migrants who broke into Europe tell other Moroccans to stay at home as Spain erects massive inflatable barriers in bid to stop 60,000-strong ‘invasion’

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has criticised what he called the "selfish, polarising, unlawful" response of some EU countries after roughly 60,000 Moroccan migrants illegally crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The mass crossing, which prompted Spain to deploy troops and install a large inflatable sea barrier, has strained relations within the bloc, with 22 of the EU's 27 member states demanding emergency talks and neighbouring countries tightening their own border controls in response.

Officials said about 48,000 of those who entered on Thursday had since returned to Morocco, though small groups reportedly attempted fresh crossings on Saturday, and Spanish forces have been escorting migrants back to the border while others hide in tunnels or roam Ceuta's streets. At least 67 people died attempting the crossing, with some drowning or killed in a stampede near a breakwater, prompting migrants who reached Ceuta to warn compatriots against following them, with one telling El País: "People are dying here. I beg you… don't do it." Sánchez has called for an urgent meeting of EU interior ministers, insisting border security is a shared EU responsibility, while accusing critics of being driven by "prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest."