A large group of people were seen running across roads and a roundabout toward the Beni Ansar border-crossing complex in Morocco in footage released on Thursday (July 30).

The crowd is believed to have been attempting a mass rush toward the border area adjacent to Melilla, Spain's second autonomous city located in northern Africa, prompting an urgent security response. That has been the only open crossing between Morocco and Melilla for the past six years.

Reuters was able to confirm the location of the video from a roundabout, trees, buildings, billboard and road layout which matched satellite imagery of the area. Date when the video was filmed is not verified, however no older version of the footage was found posted online before July 30.

Spain deployed on Thursday military units to reinforce police in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, also in North Africa, as migrants surged into the territory by sea and land from Morocco.

A Spanish Interior Ministry spokesperson said on Friday (July 31) that number of people who died on Thursday trying to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta has risen to 18, as migrants rushed by sea and land from Morocco.

Ceuta, along with ‌Melilla, represents the European Union's only land border with Africa. Both cities periodically experience surges in attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

1. POINT-OF-VIEW FROM MOTORIST OF LARGE CROWD RUNNING ACROSS ROAD AT ROUNDABOUTv