Spain installs floating barrier as death toll from migrant invasion hits 67

Some of the migrants drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, while others were killed in a deadly crush at a border checkpoint -- prompting Spain to declare a national emergency and mobilize law enforcement authorities to send thousands back across the border.

According to Spanish authorities, about 50,000 people had crossed into Ceuta by land and sea from Morocco in an unprecedented surge at one of the European Union's only land borders with Africa.

Spain installs floating barrier in Ceuta after calm night following border rush  Reuters

CEUTA, Spain, Aug 1 - Spain said migrant crossings into its North African enclave of Ceuta had stopped overnight, as police began installing a 500-metre (1,640-foot) floating barrier on Saturday off its border with Morocco following a mass rush that killed at least 67 people.

Most of those who surged into the territory, a Spanish exclave in Africa, have returned across the border to Morocco. At least 67 people died trying to enter, the authorities said.