MADRID, Spain – Ceuta experienced one of its most difficult nights in recent days with a succession of fires recorded in different parts of the city, leaving 42 shanties erected by migrants, eight vehicles and four containers burned. The series of fires forced the Fire Extinction and Rescue Service to deploy for several hours across different areas of the city to attend to emergencies, while police officers also had to intervene to guarantee safety and facilitate the work of firefighters.
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The largest episode occurred in the vicinity of the warehouses of the Tarajal Industrial Estate, where a fire destroyed 42 shanties built by migrants who remain in the area after having entered Ceuta from Morocco on 30 and 31 July. The fire broke out near midnight in one of the improvised settlements located outside the warehouses, and it was the residents themselves who alerted emergency services upon seeing the flames.
Officers evacuated the migrants sleeping in the surrounding area to prevent them from being affected by the smoke, and no injuries were reported. The flames mainly consumed plastics, waste and other belongings accumulated in the settlement without reaching the warehouse structures. Security forces are now investigating the origin of the fire and trying to determine whether it could have been caused by one of the campfires lit in the camp.
Another of the largest fires was recorded in the vicinity of the José Ramón Díaz-Flor sports centre, where several vehicles were affected by the flames. Firefighters had to intervene to prevent the fire from spreading to other cars or nearby elements. The situation was repeated in other parts of the city, including another industrial estate and several car parks, leaving a total balance of eight vehicles and four containers burned. Overall, firefighters counted at least 54 elements directly affected by fire among shanties, vehicles and containers during an especially complicated night.
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The succession of fires comes after other similar episodes have been recorded in Ceuta in recent days, with vehicles, containers and belongings burned in different parts of the city. The security forces have opened an investigation to determine the causes of the various fires and clarify whether there is any type of relationship between them.
