Spain's gendarmerie, known as the Guardia Civil, recovered the body of another migrant off the coast of Ceuta last week. The man appeared to be of sub-Saharan origin, stated reports.

Nearly two months after the unexpected arrival of at least 72,000 migrants in Ceuta, migrants continue to attempt to reach the Spanish enclave from across the Moroccan border.

The Spanish government has increased maritime controls since that late July to prevent further entries.

However, since August, migrants have continued to arrive in Ceuta from neighboring Morocco — with some failing during the perilous attempt.

Dozens of deaths in less than two months

The local media outlet El Faro de Ceuta reported that the sub-Saharan man's body was discovered on September 17, wearing a wetsuit — which strongly suggests that he was trying to get to Ceuta by swimming over from Morocco.

Land controls into Ceuta are heavily fortified, leaving would-be migrants typically with the sole option of taking their chances via the sea route.

Despite often using additional equipment such as devices to support buoyancy and wearing wetsuits to prevent hypothermia, several have drowned in recent years, trying to circumvent underwater nets and other border protections erected by Spain in the sea.

Just over three weeks earlier, another migrant body was found along the Mediterranean shores of the Spanish enclave; in mid-August, officials discovered another two bodies within two hours of each other.

Spanish authorities said that at least 82 migrants lost their lives during the sudden influx of migrants on July 30 and 31, with the majority of them dying by drowning; however, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) puts that number at closer to 130-140 deaths.

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Thousands of migrants remain in Ceuta

Despite the organized return of tens of thousands of people, who had arrived in Ceuta in late July, several thousand migrants have continued to roam the streets of the small territory, which measures only 18 square kilometers, since the beginning of August. 

The vast majority of them sleep rough on the streets and beaches of the enclave, with a major informal camp having sprung up on the beach of Trampolin.

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The Spanish government puts the tally of remaining migrants, including unaccompanied minors, at 5,000 though local authorities claim the number might be as high as 13,000; this is in addition to up to 6,000 migrants who already have been given emergency accommodation in Ceuta after the events of July 30 and 31.

Some of the migrants have claimed to have become victims of violence at the hands of officials; an investigation has been launched into reports of authorities beating migrants and exposing them to degrading behavior.

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Bodies wash ashore on the mainland

Meanwhile, instances of migrant drownings appear to expand all the way to the Spanish mainland, with two fatalities reported last week near the holiday resort of Malaga.

According to the CanalSur news outlet, efforts are still underway to identify the bodies of the two men found, with an investigation also being launched into how they might have managed to get so close to mainland Spain.

The two victims were also discovered wearing wetsuits.

The two bodies were discovered about 50 kilometers apart and are assumed to not be connected; however it cannot be completely ruled out that, if they had been traveling together, strong currents at sea may have spread the two corpses apart.

A daring escape

In Spain, the methods of migrants attempting irregular journeys also appear to be taking on increasingly extreme dimensions.

An underage minor was discovered this week traveling under a bus from Ceuta to mainland Spain. The Moroccan national was a stowaway passenger under the team bus of the Spanish second-division soccer club Real Valladolid, which had come to Ceuta for a match.

According to reports carried by the AFP news agency, the boy had managed to remain hidden away underneath the bus throughout the ferry crossing from Ceuta across the Strait of Gibraltar to the mainland — and journey for over 100 kilometers afterward inside Spain.

Players reportedly discovered the clandestine passenger near the city of Jerez de la Frontera, suspended near the rear axle of the bus after hearing unusual noises during the trip.

Reportedly, the minor only came out at a rest stop, asking for help from the football team; officers from the Guardia Civil arrived soon thereafter to provide care and take the youth to hospital.

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with AFP, SID