The death toll from the latest mass attempt by African migrants to enter a Spanish enclave in north Africa has risen to three, a Moroccan official said today.
The official quoted a hospital report as saying the third person was a Cameroonian (28) who died in hospital from pelvic injuries following the incident, in which up to 70 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa tried to stampede into Spain's African enclave of Melilla.
Two other men were also killed in today's incident, officials have said, when the migrants rushed a six-metre-high fence at dawn with make-shift ladders. Moroccan guards fired warning shots to stop them entering, those officials said.
One of the two men reported dead yesterday fell onto the Spanish side of the fence while the other died on the way to a Moroccan hospital. At least eight others were seriously injured by razor wire.
It was the first mass assault on Spain's African enclaves since October 2005. Then, six men were shot dead when Moroccan troops opened fire on more than 100 migrants.
Spain has since deployed more troops and doubled the height of its border fence to block sub-Saharan migrants who seek a better life in Europe.
Moroccan authorities are also searching for survivors following the sinking of a boat carrying migrants off the coast of Western Sahara in which 21 passengers drowned. Officials said up to 42 other migrants were believed missing.
The boat was believed to have been on the way to Spain's Canary Islands.