Ceuta investigates the death of a 17-year-old migrant minor who was receiving treatment for diabetes

Ceuta's child protection network experienced one of its most painful days this Thursday. A 17-year-old Moroccan teenager has died in La Esperanza, one of the centers enabled by the autonomous city to care for young migrants who have arrived alone in recent weeks.

The alarm was activated shortly after seven in the morning. Another minor housed in the same room approached to wake him up and, upon realizing he wasn't responding, alerted the educators. The center called 112 at 7:05 AM and the Medical Emergency Unit arrived eight minutes later. Paramedics confirmed his death there.

The young man suffered from type 1 diabetes and needed insulin to keep his glucose levels controlled. Health sources explained that he had been receiving treatment since his arrival in Ceuta and had had his last check-up on September 1st, just two days before dying.

The initial assessment points to severe hypoglycemia suffered during the early morning, although this hypothesis remains pending confirmation. The body has been transferred to the autopsy room for forensic tests to clarify what happened and precisely determine the cause of death.

Death arrives with the protection network at its limit

The teenager had entered Ceuta during the massive arrivals on July 30th and 31st. Since then, he remained under the guardianship of the autonomous city, whose child services have had to multiply places, staff, and resources to care for thousands of children and adolescents.

The Ministry of Youth and Childhood places the number of minors housed in the Ceuta network at 1,478, a figure that changes as identifications progress. The Interior Ministry has counted 2,168 minors among all people who arrived since July 30th.

Pressure has also increased due to the particularly vulnerable profile of many of them. Around 700 are girls, and care teams have detected a growing presence of children under 13 years old, some previously exposed to violence, abandonment, or exploitation.

The Government is working with social entities and autonomous communities to accelerate transfers to the Peninsula and free up places in Ceuta. The autopsy must now clarify the circumstances of the death while center officials and protection services gather all information about the medical care the teenager received.