Estonia joins EU leaders urging Spain action after Ceuta migrant surge

Estonia has joined 21 other European Union member states in expressing concerns over Spain following a mass migrant crossing into the Ceuta exclave. According to Euronews, an estimated 60,000 people rushed into the Spanish north African territory, mostly by swimming.

Most of them have since returned to Morocco, with MyJoyOnline Ghana reporting that about 50,000 people had crossed into Ceuta and over 48,000 returned within 48 hours. The mass crossing resulted in at least 67 deaths, as per MyJoyOnline Ghana, although Morocco's Interior Ministry put the death toll at 11.

The incident prompted alarm across the European Union, leading 22 member states, including Estonia, to write a letter asking for coordinated action to protect external borders and other measures. Spain has since installed a 500-metre floating barrier off its border with Morocco.

Brief written by urgent.news from ERR News Estonia, Euronews, MyJoyOnline Ghana, Le Monde English, ABC News AU — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.