At least 18 migrants die trying to cross a border fence between Morocco and Spain

By Ahmed Eljechtimi and Graham Keeley -

At least 18 migrants from Morocco died on Friday after a massive attempt to cross into Spanish territory through a border fence.

The incident was captured on video footage showing some of them bleeding on top of the fence and others apparently dead.

Moroccan authorities said the incident occurred after migrants tried to breach a fence in the Spanish border city of Melilla, with some crushed to death after what authorities called a stampede, and others falling while climbing the fence.

The leader of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), Omar Naji, said that members and supporters of the organization had filmed the images, in which a large number of seriously injured people can be seen, while Moroccan officers trample on them.