Key facts
- Spanish authorities are attempting to identify 80 migrant bodies discovered after a large influx into the Ceuta enclave.
- The forensic team in Ceuta was overwhelmed, requiring additional staff and a larger morgue.
- Many of the deceased died from cardiopulmonary arrests, consistent with drowning.
- Only four bodies have been definitively identified so far.
- Spanish police are collaborating with Moroccan authorities to facilitate identification and missing persons reports.
Spanish authorities are intensifying efforts to identify the bodies of 80 migrants who died during a mass attempt to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco. The influx overwhelmed Ceuta's forensic team, prompting the deployment of additional staff and the establishment of a larger morgue. Families in Morocco are anxiously awaiting news, with many posting messages on social media and contacting phones in hopes of reaching missing relatives.
Autopsies indicate that many of the deceased succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrests, a common outcome of drowning. While four bodies have been identified through fingerprints and DNA, tests are ongoing for four more. Spanish police have shared fingerprint data with Moroccan authorities and set up an office near the border for relatives to file missing persons reports and provide DNA samples. Charities have previously criticized the government for not applying similar identification protocols to migrant incidents as they do for other disasters.
Unless identified and claimed by relatives for repatriation, the bodies are slated for burial in Ceuta in the coming days. Forensic teams are preparing the bodies in accordance with Muslim rites.