At least fifteen migrants dead attempting to reach Ceuta

BarcelonaAt least fifteen migrants have lost their lives trying to reach Ceuta by swimming from Morocco. The Civil Guard recovered the bodies of fourteen people this Thursday, six of them in the last few hours, and Salvamento Marítimo recovered one more, according to EFE. It is not ruled out that the death toll may increase in the coming hours.

The first discovery occurred early this morning. The Salvamar Atria vessel, based in Ceuta, was responsible for recovering the body from the water and transferring it to the port, according to the EFE agency.

Later, agents of the Civil Guard's Maritime Service found the lifeless bodies of eleven more people around the Tarajal border, who had allegedly drowned while trying to enter by swimming from Morocco. And in the last few hours of this Thursday, the same Civil Guard found three more lifeless bodies floating in the sea near the southern front of Tarajal.

The bodies have been transferred to the Civil Guard's facilities in the fishing port, where an autopsy will be performed to reveal the exact causes of death. Initial hypotheses suggest that these people died from asphyxiation while trying to reach the coasts of Ceuta by swimming.

With these victims, at least 45 migrants have now lost their lives in the waters off the coast of Ceuta since the beginning of the year; 26 this July.