The death toll in the border crisis between Spain’s Ceuta enclave and Morocco has reached 67, the Spanish government reported on Saturday. The fatalities include individuals who drowned and others who perished in a stampede while attempting to cross a breakwater barrier.

In response, Spain has commenced the installation of a 500-meter containment barrier along the breakwater fence that extends into the sea. This action follows an influx of around 60,000 migrants breaching the Spanish territory’s border from Thursday to Friday.

A few exhausted migrants swam to Ceuta’s urban Tarajal beach on Saturday morning, only to be guided back across the border by soldiers. According to Spain’s interior ministry, the majority of the people who entered the Spanish enclave in North Africa have now returned to Morocco.

Although the streets were previously filled with hopeful individuals seeking a new life in Spain, residents of Ceuta awoke to a tenuous calm on Saturday morning. However, security in the autonomous city of 84,000 residents remains fragile.

“Life in this city has been disrupted as a result of the border incident,” remarked Ceuta’s President, Juan Jesus Vivas. “The return of people has begun satisfactorily but the process must be completed. The city has not yet returned to normal.”

Despite efforts to restore order, some migrants remain determined to stay in Ceuta. Mohamed Hatri, a 23-year-old from Morocco, expressed his resolve, saying, “They’ve closed everything down so that we can’t buy anything to eat, to force us to return to our country. But even if they close it down, we’re bound to stay here, whether we’re hungry or not.”