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📖 Read full article→Hundreds of migrant children are stranded in Spain’s Ceuta after mass crossing - AP News
WorldBy Bernat Armangue, Joseph Wilson8/3/20261 min read
The girl made it through the waves to Spanish territory. Her little brother drowned in the Mediterranean. Their mother disappeared in the chaos when tens of thousands of people surged through the breakwater to leave Morocco behind. The tragic story of a 17-ye…
✨ Key Highlights
- Days after roughly 60,000 migrants surged from Morocco into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, families continued searching for missing relatives, and young men kept crossing the border into Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.
- More than 800 unaccompanied minors—about 860 according to local officials—remained stranded in Ceuta four days after the mass crossing, facing uncertain futures with government youth centers reported full.
- A 17-year-old girl from Tangier described the tragedy of the crossing: her 8-year-old brother drowned in the Mediterranean and was pulled from the water by Spanish police, while she became separated from her mother during the chaos.
- The teenager, who does not speak Spanish, said she spent four days alone, relying on local residents who gave her food, clothing, and shelter, and recounted seeing "people stepping on the dead" and children now "begging on the street."
- Spanish authorities confirmed 72 deaths, mostly by drowning, while Morocco reported 11 additional deaths not included in that count.
- Most of the original 60,000 migrants returned voluntarily by Friday evening, but an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 avoided expulsion, with the stranded minors comprising a significant portion of that group.
CEUTA, Spain (AP) The teenage girl made it through the waves to Spanish territory. Her little brother did not, drowning in the Mediterranean, while their mother disappeared in the chaos when tens of