Three migrants were caught red-handed trying to sneak onto a ferry to mainland Spain – with two hauling themselves up a mooring rope.
Dramatic footage shows two of the trio racing across a pier before grabbing hold of the thick dock line and attempting to clamber aboard.
But their bid was spotted by crew members, who raised the alarm.
READ MORE: UK-bound migrants kidnapped in Libya and threatened with kidney removal
Later footage shows all three men cornered by police and ordered to sit on the pavement beside a port building.
The young men were detained by port police in Ceuta on Sunday (6 September) after their attempt to board the moored passenger ferry was foiled.
The Passió per Formentera, operated by Baleària, was just minutes from departing for Algeciras on the Spanish mainland when the drama unfolded, as reported by Need To Know.
The incident delayed the ferry’s departure.
The three Moroccan men had reportedly been staying in Ceuta irregularly since a mass influx in late July.
It is unclear how they managed to enter the port facilities without being detected.
The incident comes amid growing concern in Ceuta over the Spanish Government’s decision to temporarily accommodate more than 1,000 migrants in the port area.
A police source, who wished to remain anonymous, told local media: “If there’s enough disorder for us to have to intervene, we’d have no choice but to close the port.”
Attempts by migrants to secretly board ferries are a recurring problem in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which sit on Morocco’s northern coast.
People have previously been caught hiding in vehicles, attempting to board vessels and climbing onto ferries using mooring ropes.
The police source added: “What happens if they get onto the ferry and you then have to fight to get them off?”
READ MORE: Over 53,000 illegal migrants missing in UK, ex-Premier League chairman now MP claims
