Spain: 200 Illegal Migrants Storm Border Fence, 50 Break Through, Six Guards Injured

MADRID (AP) – Authorities in the Spanish city of Melilla say that around 200 migrants have tried to climb a barrier separating the European country’s north African enclave from Morocco.

The local office of the Spanish government’s representative said Friday that one migrant suffered a fractured leg while six Spanish police were injured when around 50 migrants managed to scale the security fence surrounding the coastal city.

The other 150 were repelled by Spanish and Moroccan border guards.

The migrants who reached Spanish soil were taken to a holding center, where they can ask for asylum while authorities start procedures to return them to their countries of origin.

Spain has become the leading entry point for migrants to Europe. Most cross the Mediterranean Sea in small boats unfit for open waters.