Summary Spain estimates that about 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco, exceeding initial estimates of around 50,000 arrivals in Ceuta
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Some 100 people died during the massive border rush last week in Spain's Ceuta, the enclave city's leader Juan Jesus Vivas said on Thursday during an EU parliamentary meeting.
Vivas added that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants were still in Ceuta.
Earlier, hundreds of migrants set up camp on a beach in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta as local authorities struggled to cope with the thousands still in the tiny territory after a massive border rush last week.
Spain estimates that about 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco over the past four days, exceeding initial estimates of around 50,000 arrivals in Ceuta.
Also Read: At least 72 died in Spain's Ceuta migrant rush
Many said they left as shop closures had left them without food, they encountered hostility from locals and they were unable to travel on to the Spanish mainland.
Ceuta and Spain's other North African enclave, Melilla, sit on Morocco's Mediterranean coast and periodically face attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Reuters video showed scores of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, lying on the sand of El Trampolin beach.
Many were wrapped in towels to shield from the wind, while army and police vehicles patrolled the road behind them.
