Migrant child stows away to Spain under football bus

Members of a Spanish NGO Doctors of the World interact with migrant minors at an industrial area in Ceuta, Spain.

MADRID - A Moroccan boy travelled from Spain’s north African exclave of Ceuta to the mainland hidden under a visiting football team’s bus on Sept 21, sources at the club told AFP.

The Real Valladolid players found the child hidden by their coach’s wheel axle when it pulled over at a service station, the sources told AFP.

The team from northern Spain had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on the ferry on the way home after drawing 1-1 in their second-division match against Ceuta, when they heard strange noises under the vehicle.

Under pressure to contain migration after a crisis in Ceuta on July 30 and 31, Spain’s government had insisted that no irregular migrants would be allowed to reach the mainland.

On those days more than 70,000 people swam in the sea around a border fence into the Spanish territory. Most returned, but several thousand have remained.

The boy under the coach had stayed hidden throughout the ferry crossing and for more than 100km by road before eventually calling for help, the Real Valladolid sources said.

Club members gave him food, water and clothing before police took charge of him.

The authorities say conditions in Ceuta have deteriorated since the migrant influx, sparking angry demonstrations by residents. AFP