AROUND 60,000 migrants have entered Spain’s Ceuta from Morocco in the past 24 hours, Ceuta’s president said today.

At least 34 migrants have died attempting the crossing.

“The situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable,” Juan Jesus Vivas told journalists.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez slammed the border breach during a visit to Ceuta today.

He described it as “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”

Mr Sanchez blamed human smugglers for the crisis, saying they “deceive so many young people, and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths, whether in the ocean or, as in this case, at Spain’s border in the autonomous city of Ceuta.”

Spain’s Interior Ministry said half of those reaching Ceuta had already returned to Morocco, and shared footage of migrants walking back through a border fence door.

The border crisis boiled over with security forces clashing with migrants on the Moroccan side of the border.

Video footage of the border early on Friday showed hundreds of migrants gathered on a hill overlooking Ceuta being dispersed with tear gas by Moroccan forces, while others continued to swim to the Spanish territory.

Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis,” saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly. “It’s chaotic.”

Morocco’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the migrant figures released by the Spanish authorities.

In a statement on Friday European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the “images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable.

“We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules.”

She added: “Dangerous crossings must stop immediately and smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.”

Moroccan Ahmed Karim said he had crossed into Ceuta because of the lack of jobs in his country.

He said: “Many people want to go to Europe, America, but they don’t have the opportunity.”

“Despite the heavy police presence, people crossed through the waterway, while the land border remained closed,” said Achraf Maimouni, a human rights activist in Fnideq, the Moroccan city bordering Ceuta.

Migrants arrested at the border were taken farther into Morocco, away from Ceuta, “but people are still coming,” Mr Maimouni said.