At least 57 people die as tens of thousands cross to Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco

At least 57 people have died trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after as many as 50,000 migrants entered the tiny territory from Morocco in what Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, called "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity".

The huge influx, which took place over the course of just 24 hours, overwhelmed the city of 85,000 people, triggered a political crisis for Madrid and led to a mixed reaction from other EU countries, including calls for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen free-movement zone.

Sanchez said: "That has spread like wildfire during these last few hours through the networks of mafias that traffic in human beings and has produced an avalanche of the characteristics and dimension that we experienced yesterday."

Although the Spanish government said about 50,000 people had crossed the border on Thursday and in the early hours of Friday, the president of Ceuta put the figure at about 60,000.

Spain's interior ministry, which has deployed additional police officers and soldiers to the enclave, said more than 48,300 people had voluntarily returned to Morocco by 6pm on Friday.

Italy announced on Friday evening that it would be suspending its Schengen arrangements with Spain, but the practical impact of the move was not immediately clear.

Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers' association representing officers of the Spanish Guardia Civil - which patrols Spain's borders - described the situation as a "serious humanitarian crisis".

In a post on X, the PP's leader, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, wrote: "People have continued to arrive in Ceuta throughout the night, and those on the ground describe an occupied city, with nothing sufficient being done to prevent it."