Thousands of African migrants swarm Spain amid pleas to declare 'national emergency'

Thousands of African migrants have swarmed to Spain as the authorities have made pleas to Madrid to declare a national emergency.

A Spanish enclave in north Africa has been plunged into a social and humanitarian crisis after 1,500 migrants reached the city of Ceuta across from Morocco in the past week.

In videos posted on social media, hundreds of people can be seen running up the beaches and hills of Ceuta.

Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain which borders Morocco.

The city, along with Melilla, another Spanish enclave, is the only EU land border with Africa.

Juan Jesus Vivas, Ceuta's president, said on local television: "We are in a situation of total humanitarian and social emergency."

In other televised comments, he added: "In the past few days more than 1,500 migrants, both adults and minors, have come to Ceuta by sea.

"The reception centres are saturated – there is no more room for anyone in them and according to yesterday's figures the number of people entering is more than 200 a day."

He continued to say facilities for unaccompanied minors are at over-capacity, operating at 2,400 per cent.

Spain's interior ministry said in a statement that the Government was "acting in coordination to respond with the utmost speed and efficiency to the situation in Ceuta".

Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain's interior minister, will be heading to Cueta tomorrow to meet officials and "monitor the situation", the department said.

MORE TO FOLLOW...