At least 54 children and about 30 adults swam from Morocco to Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in rough seas and fog, Spanish television reported on Saturday.

Video footage on Spanish television channel RTVE showed Civil Guard launches making repeated rescue attempts to bring some of the swimmers to safety, while others swam across to the enclave.

The children, who were mostly Moroccan, were taken to temporary centers in Ceuta, where authorities called for help from the central government in dealing with the latest arrivals.

“Don’t leave us alone. This is a matter of state. This has to be resolved,” Juan Rivas of the Ceuta regional government told reporters on Saturday.

On August 26 last year, hundreds of migrants took advantage of a thick mist to swim to Ceuta from neighboring Morocco, local police said. In 2021, one boy was seen floating on empty plastic bottles in his attempt to reach Ceuta.