{"id":2299,"date":"2026-08-04T04:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2299"},"modified":"2026-08-04T04:37:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:37:44","slug":"runaway-online-rumors-sparked-frantic-rush-by-migrants-to-the-spanish-enclave-of-ceuta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2299","title":{"rendered":"Runaway online rumors sparked frantic rush by migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FNIDEQ, Morocco (AP) \u2014 It started with Instagram posts that suggested Spain\u2019s border with Morocco<\/span> was opening up. Then came Facebook users tracking coast guard patrols and TikTok videos showing where to swim.<\/p>\n

Read more Hundreds of migrant children are stranded in Spain\u2019s Ceuta after mass crossing<\/a><\/p>\n

After many shares and comments, thousands of Moroccans became convinced that Europe was suddenly within reach<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Within hours, young people began heading toward the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa. Packed buses rolled into the neighboring Moroccan city of Fnideq. Regional trains filled up. Taxis did too.<\/p>\n

By the time authorities reacted, an estimated 60,000 people had reached Ceuta in just a few days, the largest migration surge between Morocco and Spain in years. More than 80 migrants died on both sides of the border, including some who drowned and others who were killed in a stampede, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Nearly all of the surviving migrants soon returned<\/span>, but the fallout from last week\u2019s events<\/span> will linger.<\/p>\n

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Rumors started online<\/h2>\n

In the northern Moroccan city of Larache, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) from Ceuta, three friends watched a video posted by an Instagram account called Haraga Ceuta claiming the border would be open. Haraga refers in Moroccan dialect to young migrants who destroy their identification papers and try crossing illegally into Europe.<\/p>\n

The post convinced Anas Amrani, Yahya Harak and Ismail Atik that it was worth risking the journey.<\/p>\n

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For migrants hoping to reach Spanish territory, the most common route begins in Fnideq, where many attempt the roughly 3-mile (5-kilometer) swim around the border breakwater. Others leave from the nearby village of Belyounech.<\/p>\n

One TikTok video mapped the exact route swimmers should follow.<\/p>\n

On Facebook groups such as Fnideq Bab Sebta, users shared screenshots from vessel-tracking platforms to identify moments when coast guard patrols appeared lighter. Some sought advice on using inflatable boats. Others advertised wetsuits for sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw online that the border was open, and I decided to go,\u201d said 17-year-old Omar Danbor from Fnideq, walking back exhausted along the coast.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear who was behind the claims that the border was open or who operated many of the social media accounts, several of which were deleted soon after the crossings. The Associated Press contacted several accounts but received no response.<\/p>\n

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Chaos at the breakwater<\/h2>\n

As migrants reached the shores of Ceuta, mass chaos erupted at a narrow concrete breakwater where many tried to climb onto land.<\/p>\n

According to multiple migrants interviewed by AP, people rushed to scramble over the slick rocks at the same time, pushing and climbing over one another. Several said they saw people knocked back into the water and forced beneath others, leaving them unable to resurface as migrants sought to reach land.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stepped on the face of a dead man while I was climbing out. I hope God forgives me and all those whose bodies were found,\u201d said Lahcen Kalouch, a Moroccan migrant who reached Ceuta before returning home distraught.<\/p>\n

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