Morocco has finally released its first official death toll after thousands tried to reach Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta last week, but its figures are sharply lower than Spain’s.

There is a major discrepancy over the number of lives lost during last week’s chaotic attempts to reach Ceuta.

Cbinews.tv reports that Morocco’s interior ministry said on Sunday that 11 people had died while trying to cross into the Spanish enclave. That is significantly lower than the figure from Spain, which says at least 72 people died.

Tens of thousands of would-be migrants crossed into the territory between Wednesday and Friday, sparking a diplomatic row inside the European Union as some member states criticised Spain’s migration policies.

Morocco’s interior ministry spokesman Rachid El Khalfi said that of the 11 who died, 10 had drowned while one person fell from a rocky area.

The ministry said Morocco was working with Spain to verify the toll and to identify bodies found on Spanish territory.

Officials in Rabat blamed the sudden surge on the malicious exploitation of social media and the spread of misleading information.

But it also pointed to misinterpretations of legal provisions, a reference to a July 8 Spanish Supreme Court ruling that migrants arriving by sea should not be returned as quickly as others.

According to the ministry, there were 40,000 attempts to cross into Ceuta illegally. Another 1,135 people tried to illegally enter Melilla, the other Spanish territory further east, but were immediately returned to Moroccan territory.

Spain says more than 60,000 people managed to enter Ceuta in recent days, although most have now returned to Morocco.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, AMDH, has given a much higher estimate, saying there were nearly 130 victims with dozens more still missing.

The interior ministry confirmed that prosecutors have now opened an official investigation into what happened.

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