Sunbathers look on in shock as packed migrant boat arrives on Spanish beach and dozens of men run ashore and disappear

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 04:46 EDT, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 05:09 EDT, 20 August 2026 Holidaymakers looked on in amazement as their day at the beach next to the famous La Manga Club on Spain's Costa Calida was interrupted by the arrival of a packed migrant boat.The men on board could be heard cheering as they reached the shore, while stunned sunseekers gathered up their belongings and moved away from the water's edge.At least one woman could be seen fearfully covering herself up as the men jumped into the sea and swam the last few metres to the sand after their journey across the Mediterranean.A woman watching the surreal scene unfolding before her eyes could be overheard saying: 'It's a f*****g patera', the name given to the open flat-bottomed boat often used to transport irregular migrants, as they leapt into the sea.She added to a man accompanying her: 'Collect the things. Call the police.'An estimated 60 people were on board the vessel which arrived yesterday at Cala del Barco, a small golden-sand cove sitting right next to the La Manga Club resort which is a popular warm winter training destination for top sports clubs.The boat turned round and headed back in the direction it had come from as the migrants ran up the sand and disappeared. Holidaymakers look on in amazement as their day at the beach next to the famous La Manga Club on Spain's Costa Calida is interrupted by the arrival of a packed migrant boat Sunseekers could be seen gathering up their belongings and moving away from the shoreline as the men on board jumped into the sea to swim the last few metres to the sand after their journey across the Mediterranean A woman watching the surreal scene unfolding before her eyes could be overheard saying: 'It's a f*****g patera', the name given to the open flat-bottomed boat often used to transport irregular migrants as they leapt into the sea She added to a man accompanying her: 'Collect the things. Call the police' At least one woman could be seen fearfully covering herself up as the men jumped into the sea Spanish politician Francisco Bernabe, a former mayor of La Union which is near to the beach, said in a social media blast: 'Dozens of illegal immigrants landed today at the La Manga Club coveSpanish politician Francisco Bernabe, a former mayor of La Union which is near to the beach, said in a social media blast: 'Dozens of illegal immigrants landed today at the La Manga Club cove.'How is it possible that a boat of that size was not detected by the surveillance radar? Are they broken? Do they have them turned off? Or are they working and they simply ignore them? Extremely serious.'Noelia Arroyo, mayoress of the municipality of Cartagena which Cala del Barco is part of, raged: 'This cannot be normalised.'We cannot accept that human trafficking mafias have such an easy time reaching our shores.'If a migrant boat can reach a cove like this, disembark in full view of citizens and then leave, we have to ask ourselves how the control of our maritime borders is working.'Government officials have yet to offer any information on the number of migrants who made the crossing and it was not immediately clear this morning how many have been tracked down.They were mainly north African men thought to be in their late teens and twenties.Police responded to a number of emergency calls from tourists and locals who were on the beach but arrived after the migrants left the boat.The incident yesterday coincided with a Spanish government U-turn over the migrant children who crossed into Ceuta on July 30.Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said last week those who had entered Spain's North African enclave would be sent back to Morocco.But overnight it emerged Pedro Sanchez's left-wing coalition government would allow 500 minors to relocate to the mainland in a decision which has been criticised by opposition politicians.Although most of the estimated 72,500 migrants who swam into Ceuta in the mass crossing late last month subsequently returned to Morocco, thousands remained with many setting up makeshift camps on a beach which this morning police began to clear in a massive security operation.