A new border crisis has emerged in Ceuta, the Spanish-administered autonomous territory in North Africa, after thousands of migrants entered from Morocco within hours. Local sources said about 49,000 people crossed the border by swimming, using sea routes and climbing or breaking through border fences. At least 18 people were reported dead amid the disorder.

The crisis escalated on Thursday after large numbers of people broke the border fence, prompting Ceuta’s local authorities to request additional troops from Madrid. Spain deployed the army, extra police and special security forces. Rashid Sabihi, head of Spain’s Civil Guard association serving at the border, described the situation as extremely chaotic and said thousands were crossing, though he could not provide an exact total.

Spain’s Interior Ministry called it the largest migrant entry into Ceuta in recent years. The local administration said reception centres were already overflowing. Spain and Morocco reached a policy-level understanding on returning people who entered illegally, while Morocco pledged to strengthen border security. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska was expected to visit Ceuta on Friday.