I'd rather die than go back, Moroccan migrant boy tells Spanish soldier

A Moroccan boy swims using bottles as a float, near the fence between the Spanish-Moroccan border, after thousands of migrants swam across the border, in Ceuta, Spain, May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File photo

CEUTA, Spain (Reuters) - A Moroccan boy who used empty plastic bottles to swim to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta this week said he would rather die than go back to Morocco, according to the Spanish soldier who translated for him before he was escorted away.

The boy attracted international media attention as he floated in a dark T-shirt with the bottles under his clothes and attached to his arms, crying as he reached the beach only to be led away by soldiers.