A Moroccan footballer has died while trying to swim to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

Faten Ben Amar El Azizi, who played for Maghreb Atletico Tetuan (MAT), is one of the 67 to have lost their lives in the mass crossing chaos this week.

In an emotional tribute, her club said she had not been seeking ‘fame or adventure’, but simply ‘a better life and a future she believed awaited her on the other side of the border’.

‘Faten’s dream ended before it even began,’ the club said in a statement.

‘She was looking to open a new door for her future. Instead, her journey ended before she reached her destination after losing her life while trying to reach Ceuta.’

The club also lamented the ‘high price’ paid by many young people attempting irregular migration, saying too many dreams were being turned ‘into nightmares’ and ‘joy into tears’.

Faten is among the 67 people Spanish authorities say lost their lives during the mass migrant surge that saw around 50,000 people cross from Morocco into Ceuta over just two days.

While Spain has released official casualty figures, Moroccan authorities have remained publicly silent on the number of deaths, injuries and missing people on their side of the border.

However, Moroccan media have reported that at least 17 people died, most of them drowning while attempting to swim from Fnideq (Castillejos) to Ceuta, in addition to the bodies recovered in Spanish waters.

As the situation in Ceuta gradually returns to normal, families have continued gathering near the border searching for news of missing relatives, many of them young people who disappeared during the crossings.