At least two people have been killed during a mass attempt by migrants to get into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.

Officials in Ceuta said the migrants were crushed to death as hundreds tried to cross the border fence from Morocco.

Spanish officials have denied reports that police opened fire on the crowd.

Earlier this week hundreds of migrants crossed into nearby Melilla - another Spanish enclave seen as a way into Europe by the mostly African migrants.

More than 40 people, including policemen, have been injured in recent mass assaults. Three would-be immigrants have died since August.

Many migrants are caught and many drown while attempting to make the sea crossing to enter Spain illegally.

'Military tactics'

"We have confirmed two dead. The removal of the bodies was organised by the judge," the head of the Ceuta administration, Jeronimo Nieto Gonzales, told Spain's radio Cadena Ser.

At least 28 would-be immigrants were being treated in hospital for injuries, the regional government said.

It made no comment about reports in the Spanish media that at least two others were killed on the Moroccan side of the border,

Immigration is expected to top the agenda at a Spain-Morocco summit in Seville later on Thursday.

Over the last few weeks would-be immigrants have been using ladders and what Spanish officials have described as military tactics in their increasingly desperate attempts to get over border barriers, our correspondent says.

Morocco and Spain are geographically so close that Africans pour into Morocco from all over the continent in an attempt to enter the EU.

PHOTO CAPTION

African immigrants at a temporary holding centre in Melilla. (AFP)