Tattoos, scars and DNA: inside the office that searches for the missing from the Ceuta tragedy

A new office has been established in Ceuta to assist families searching for loved ones who went missing during a mass migration attempt across the border with Morocco last week. The facility, operated by Spain’s National Police, has received 32 formal reports providing enough information to proceed with identification efforts. It has also identified 29 possible matches between family members and bodies recovered from the sea, according to police officials. Recent DNA testing has yielded preliminary positive results, though they must still be finalized and officially validated. At least 141 people have died attempting to cross into Ceuta, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, while the Spanish government has confirmed 75 deaths along the coast of Ceuta. The NGO notes that victims include individuals from Morocco, Sudan, Eritrea, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. Caminando Fronteras is working alongside families to identify the deceased. “We are collaborating with families in the identification process,” said Helena Maleno, director of the organization. The police office, located in the upper area of the Spanish side of the Tarajal border zone, consists of three rooms: one for reporting disappearances, another for forensic workers, and a third with a large table where police officers, scientists, and technicians work on matching identities. According to Comandante Mungía of the armed forces, the facility is open to relatives, friends, or anyone who can provide information about someone whose whereabouts are unknown and who might have crossed into Ceuta on Thursday. However, the process is complicated for families on the Moroccan side of the border, as those without visas are not allowed entry into Ceuta and thus cannot access the office directly. In such cases, families file reports in Morocco, sending photos via email or submitting DNA samples, fingerprints, and other relevant information to Moroccan gendarmes, who then forward them to the Spanish police. “The multiple-victim incident protocol has been activated, and this is the first time it has been used at a border,” explained Maleno. “The issue is whether there are victims from other countries or whether Moroccan citizens cannot reach the office. We share the email address set up by the police office with families, but we also send complete files containing documentation, data, and images.” For those unable to visit the office in person or needing to submit DNA evidence, Maleno suggested that embassies should be utilized to maintain the chain of custody. She noted that families of victims from Morocco find it easier to access morgues on the Moroccan side, although there is growing criminalization of both the event and the affected families. Additionally, families from Sudan, Eritrea, and other countries face significant challenges due to their status. Inside the office, Spanish agents request all details that could help identify a person among the recovered bodies: photographs, physical characteristics, tattoos, scars, and other distinguishing features. Families provide these details, often under immense emotional strain, hoping for confirmation of their loved ones' fate. In the outskirts of Tangier, the family of Mohamed Bouzalmet, 24, continues to search desperately for his whereabouts after he attempted to swim to Ceuta from the nearby Moroccan town of Castillejos last Thursday. His father traveled to Ceuta on Friday to look for him, but was unsuccessful. “It's chaos, so many people passed through and there isn’t enough information,” said a friend of the family, who speaks some Spanish and described the situation to elDiario.es. Many families on the Moroccan side of the border are experiencing similar anguish, as loved ones disappeared either before or after crossing the border, leaving behind uncertainty and fear. The distress grows as more bodies are found in the water, yet many remain hopeful that their loved ones may have lost their phones, which is common among migrants crossing irregularly. Members of the Spanish National Police, specifically the underwater unit known as the GEAS, together with maritime services, have been combing the waters of the southern bay since last week in search of bodies. Their activity intensified on Thursday, when tens of thousands of migrants, predominantly young people, but also families and children, surrounded the border perimeter along the coastline. The delegate of the Government in Ceuta, Miguel Ángel Pérez, stated in a press conference on Sunday that the official count of fatalities from the border crossing attempt stands at 72, while funeral home sources indicate that the number of victims already brought to their facilities has risen to 79. Other estimates suggest the death toll has reached 90, according to Cadena Ser, which spoke to a man named Mohamed who claimed he saw five or six people die in front of the military personnel and said the victims drowned because there were too many people in the water. Sources within the National Police told elDiario.es that many people drowned during the peak flow, “when an avalanche of people tried to climb from the water over rocks to the final ramp that provides access to Spanish soil.” The tide carried “many of the bodies to the shore.” Others, according to colleagues of those retrieving them from the water, eventually floated to the surface. The remaining seven bodies were discovered this Saturday by the GEAS divers. In addition to searching for the dead, this unit also helped install a series of orange buoys measuring 500 meters on Saturday, serving as an additional barrier to prevent further entries. Specialized organizations worry that the purpose of this new element is to resume hot returns for those attempting to enter by swimming, following the recent Supreme Court ruling that ended this practice in the sea until now. As the new orange barrier began to take shape from the Moroccan locality of Castillejos, a group of women stood just meters away from the police checkpoint trying to obtain some information or, in a stroke of luck, locate their children whose whereabouts they did not know. One woman cried uncontrollably, while another, more composed, wiped her tears with a handkerchief. “We don't know where they are. We just hope they appear soon,” one of them said to a policeman. Dozens of young people continued passing in front of the women, who couldn't help but ask them how many remained to arrive from Ceuta. “There are many. They will come, if God wills it, madam,” replied one of them. Looking for a better life and hoping to secure employment, many continue to risk everything in pursuit of a chance at a different future.