More than 6,000 migrants reach Spain’s north African enclave Ceuta in a day

Mass influx comes amid tensions with Morocco over hospitalisation of independence leader in Spain

More than 6,000 people, an estimated 1,500 of them children, crossed into Spain's northern African enclave of Ceuta on Monday, in an unprecedented influx that left Spanish officials scrambling to cope with a humanitarian and diplomatic crisis at its border with Morocco.

Ceuta, along with nearby Melilla, has long been a destination for people from countries in Africa hoping to cross into Europe, despite being heavily protected and fortified with a double fence.