At least 18 people have died after huge crowds of migrants breached the border to the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco, authorities said.

Hundreds more migrants crossed overnight, sources told news agencies on Friday, a day after Ceuta’s government said that between 1,500 and 2,000 people had entered in the last 10 days.

Among the 18 who died, many drowned but some were also killed in the stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal beach, Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, told the Associated Press.

He described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis”.

The situation prompted regional President Jesus Vivas to declare an “absolute humanitarian and social emergency” on Thursday and call on Madrid to send troops to reassert control of the border.

Spain’s Interior Ministry rejected calls to declare a national emergency, saying such a measure does not cover migration crises, but promised additional resources.

Later on Thursday, the Interior Ministry announced that the armed forces will send 60 troops to reinforce the border.

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Footage from Thursday showed some of the migrants shouting “Viva Espana!” as they entered the territory, many of them having travelled by water from the Moroccan side on inflatable devices.

Crowds were shown walking around the breakwaters onto local roads, reported The Associated Press news agency. State news agency EFE said others had crossed by the border by land, scaling fences.

Migrant rights activist Zakaria Zarroqui told the Reuters news agency that the surge in migrant numbers was similar to one that occurred in May 2021, when some 10,000 Moroccan and sub-Saharan youths entered ⁠the enclave within days.

“The situation remains out of control as we speak,” ⁠Zarroqui said, adding that people were still flocking to the Moroccan city of Fnideq in an attempt to cross the border.

Ceuta, together with Melilla — another autonomous ‌Spanish city in North Africa — represents the European Union’s only land border with Africa. Both cities often experience surges in attempted crossings by people seeking to migrate to Europe.

Earlier this month, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants intercepted at sea while attempting to reach Ceuta or Melilla cannot ⁠be returned to Morocco.

“It has been a slow trickle since the Supreme Court’s ruling, but today has been an explosion,” ⁠a Guardia Civil spokesperson told Reuters.

Spain’s Interior Ministry said it was working closely ‌with Morocco to address the surge in irregular arrivals, blaming people-smuggling networks for exploiting the Supreme Court’s ruling and encouraging undocumented migration.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska is expected to visit Ceuta on Friday to evaluate the situation.(Aljazeera News)