At least 18 migrants have died and thousands more have breached the border separating Morocco from the Spanish territory of Ceuta, creating what local officials describe as a “serious humanitarian crisis” along the North African coast.

Spain deployed military personnel to reinforce border security after massive crowds surged across the frontier. Local officials report that while many victims drowned trying to swim around breakwaters, others were killed in a stampede near the Tarajal beach border checkpoint.

Rachid Sbihi, leader of a local Civil Guard officers’ association, called the situation chaotic, noting that thousands of migrants—including families and unaccompanied children—were left sleeping in public parks and on sidewalks.

“People are still entering,” Sbihi said, noting that military and police reinforcements arriving at the scene were largely dedicated to aiding the injured and assisting humanitarian efforts.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta to address the escalating situation, condemning the border breach as a “violation of Spain’s territorial integrity” while laying blame on human trafficking networks operating in the region. Moroccan security forces deployed tear gas, water cannons, and warning shots on their side of the border in an effort to disperse crowds attempting to cross.

Ceuta, along with nearby Melilla, forms one of the European Union’s only direct land borders with Africa. The spike in crossings follows ongoing economic hardship across parts of North Africa, leaving local emergency crews in Ceuta overwhelmed as they work to provide medical care and shelter to thousands of new arrivals.