Migrant dies trying to cross Spanish-Moroccan border

A migrant died Thursday, August 20, when 300 people tried to cross the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla, Spanish authorities said. This man seems to have died " of natural causes ", according to a statement from the prefecture of Melilla, which did not indicate either his identity or his nationality.

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He fell five meters into a stream near the border according to a spokesperson for the Civil Guard at AFP. “ It was dark, the area was unknown to him and it seems he fell. We do not know if the death is due to shock, stress, cardiac arrest , ”he said. The attempt to cross the triple border fence and its dense barbed wire took place around 6.30 am.

Eight migrants and three officers injured

A total of eight migrants were injured and carry " bruises " as well as three Civil Guard agents, who suffered from a shattered shoulder, a cut to the head and hypoglycemia. " It was not a violent assault, just a usual scramble between those who try to enter and those we prevent from doing so, " said the spokesperson. “ Some 300 migrants tried to cross (...), around 30 succeeded. The others were intercepted and turned back by the Moroccan authorities , ”according to the Spanish prefecture.

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This attempt is one of the most massive seen this year in the autonomous city of Melilla which, together with the other Spanish enclave of Ceuta, constitute the only land borders between the European Union and Africa. Containment due to the pandemic has significantly reduced arrivals in the enclaves, which amounted to 1,383 from January 1 to July 31, against 3,313 in 2019 for the same period. Conversely, arrivals jumped to the Spanish Canary Islands in western Morocco despite a long and dangerous crossing due to ocean currents.

The maritime rescue services on Wednesday spotted a boat containing between 8 and 10 corpses 80 nautical miles from this archipelago. Since early August, at least 27 people have died off the coast of Mauritania, in southern Morocco, trying to reach the Canaries.