Spain said it had stopped a large wave of migrants entering the Spanish enclave in North Africa, with most of the more than 50,000 people who crossed the border by land and sea already having voluntarily returned.

A Spanish government official in Ceuta said 57 bodies had been found on the Spanish side of the border and that there could be more victims on the Moroccan side. Some drowned, while others died in a stampede while trying to climb the breakwater that houses the border fence, Reuters reported.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said that around 50,000 people had crossed the border since yesterday morning and estimated that 48,300 had returned by 18 p.m. today. Juan Jesus Vivas, president of the local government of Ceuta, said that as many as 60,000 people had crossed the border in the previous two days.

Moroccan forces pushed back the crowd with batons and tear gas at the entrances to Ceuta, trying to prevent new entries into the small Spanish territory, located on a sandy strip that extends from Morocco to the Mediterranean Sea.

The border raid has caused divisions in Europe, with leaders of other European Union member states calling on Spain to ensure the incident remains under control.

Italy has announced it is suspending the Schengen border-free travel regime with Spain, affecting people travelling between the two countries by plane or boat. Madrid said the move violated European Union treaties.

Several hundred people returned to Morocco through border crossings and through openings in the fence, and some said they were unable to find food or accommodation in Ceuta.

“Honestly, I don’t even know why I came, and now I’m going back,” a young Moroccan man from Tangier told Reuters. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday’s lunch, although I brought some money with me… What we’re doing is neither good nor pleasant.”

Morocco has stepped up security measures on the border with the enclave.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the scenes from the border were “unacceptable”. She stressed that the European Union cannot allow entry to persons who do not respect its rules and called for an immediate halt to dangerous illegal crossings.

“Dangerous border crossing attempts must stop immediately. People smuggling networks must be dismantled, and the return of migrants must be swift, in accordance with European Union rules,” she said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said from Ceuta that the mass entry of migrants into the Spanish enclave represents an “attack and violation of the territorial integrity” of that country. At a press conference, he stressed that the government would use “all state resources” to guarantee the security of Ceuta and re-establish control over the border.

Sanchez said Madrid had already accelerated the process of returning migrants who entered Ceuta illegally. In cooperation with local authorities, a temporary center for processing and identifying persons has been established to enable the fastest possible repatriation of migrants.

The Spanish Supreme Court ruled on July 8 that migrants who try to swim into Ceuta or another Spanish enclave of Melilla cannot be immediately returned to Morocco, but must go through a regular administrative procedure.

Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni said earlier today that her government is ready to “take extraordinary measures to protect borders and the security of citizens, including the suspension of the Schengen regime with Spain.”