Spain is sending armed forces to its North African enclave of Ceuta after thousands of migrants swam across from Morocco on Thursday in a mass crossing that left at least 15 people dead. Spanish media estimated between 2,000 and 3,000 people entered the territory as border controls apparently broke down, with beaches soon covered in discarded rubber rings and flippers.

The crossing follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that migrants intercepted at sea cannot be automatically returned to Morocco, which Spain's interior ministry said human trafficking networks have exploited to "encourage the flow of undocumented migrants". Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due in Ceuta on Friday and has pledged to restore order immediately.

The breach has triggered a diplomatic row with Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she is considering suspending the open Schengen border with Spain, calling the images from Ceuta evidence that "uncontrolled illegal immigration poses a concrete threat to the security of Europe's borders", BBC News reports.