Europe · 04 August, 2026 · 3 min read
Grande-Marlaska Says Over 70,000 Attempted Irregular Entry Into Ceuta, 79 Bodies Received
Around 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta; about 70,000 were returned to Morocco. EU interior ministers praised Spain's swift response to the Ceuta migrant crisis.
Dispute over death toll figures for the Ceuta attempt.
10 of 11 outlets skipped it: spain installed a 500-meter floating security barrier at Tarajal.
21outlets compared
Same story, two versions
tap a side to read it in full
LaSexta
“El Gobierno eleva a 75 los fallecidos durante la entrada masiva en Ceuta”Read the original ↗
Conflicting casualty numbers materially change scale of the tragedy.
Ceuta deaths and autopsies
In Ceuta, the Instituto de Medicina Legal received 79 bodies and carried out 77 autopsies, with two people identified among the dead, while forensic teams continued working on the remaining cases and planned to finish two pending autopsies this Wednesday.
“ha recibido los cuerpos de 79 personas fallecidas en el mar intentando cruzar la frontera hacia España”
LaSexta said the forensic work included identifying two people through fingerprints because they were registered in Spain, and it added that to identify the rest, fingerprint data would have to be sent to Marruecos for possible recognition.L
LaSexta also said the bodies recovered from the sea after the mass entry were 77, and it described that the forensic process involved Criminalística de la Guardia Civil plus the collection of biological samples and fingerprints.L
RTL Today reported that Spanish Minister of Home Affairs Fernando Grande-Marlaska told a video conference that more than 70,000 people attempted to enter Ceuta irregularly at the end of last week, and it said nearly all were returned to Morocco within two days.
RTL Today added that between 75 and 80 people lost their lives during the ordeal, and it stated that none of those who crossed into Ceuta managed to make it to mainland Europe.
EU unity and Schengen row
After an emergency EU interior ministers meeting via video conference, Luxembourg’s Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden praised Spain’s “swift and efficient” response and said he would “not accept that Schengen is taken hostage every time there is a migration issue.”
RTL Today reported that Gloden argued Schengen “is not the problem, but the solution,” and it said he noted Ceuta is not part of the Schengen Area, undermining calls for Spain’s exclusion.
The Guardian said EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner criticised Spain’s plan to regularise undocumented migrants as “definitely not a good signal for the rest of Europe,” even while saying the EU could not currently see a direct link to Ceuta.T
The Guardian also reported that Brunner said the past few days had been “a test of our resilience” and the EU’s external border, and it quoted him adding, “I always say to this regularisation discussion … it’s not a good signal.”T
Returns, monitoring, and funding
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters that about 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who entered Ceuta had left, and he said “There was no report, no warning,” while insisting Spain was prepared to respond immediately.
““There was no report, no warning,””
LaSexta said the Government raised the number of fallecidos during the mass entry in Ceuta to 75 and announced an extraordinary 25 million euros allocation for unaccompanied migrant minors in Ceuta.L
LaSexta also said the Guardia Civil enabled an office of complaints and an email address in Ceuta to gather information about disappeared people, while the Ministry of Igualdad said it would protect migrant women on the streets.L
The Guardian reported that Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said about 70,000 of the 72,000 people who entered Ceuta had left, and it said EU interior ministers broadly endorsed a five-point plan from Ursula von der Leyen to strengthen external borders.T
The Guardian further said the EU council statement emphasised “a common understanding” to fight migrant smuggling networks, reinforce returns, strengthen EU borders, deepen partnerships with third countries, and improve early-warning capabilities.T