In an unprecedented attempt to cross into Europe an illegal migrant paraglided over a heavily fortified border fence into a Spanish enclave.
Stunned police officers raced to the area after witnessing the daring aerial crossing on security cameras.
However, despite searching the area where the mystery man had landed, all they found was the abandoned multicoloured paragliding gear in the undergrowth.
This was the first successful border breach of its kind ever attempted or accomplished in this area, which lies between Morocco and Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta, opposite Gibraltar.
Similar paragliding attempts have been made in other parts of the border region before.
Footage of this historic event showed the migrant flying over Morocco's Jebel Musa mountain before landing in Ceuta's Sidi Ibrahim area, a popular destination for weekend hikers and mountain bikers.
An ongoing investigation is trying to discover the identity of the paraglider. It was unclear whether he was Moroccan or from sub-Saharan Africa.
Local reports today suggested that he was in his early twenties, amid speculation that he had timed his crossing to coincide with the regular transfer of migrants from Ceuta to the Spanish mainland, in an attempt to relieve the overcrowding of the CETI reception centre.
An informed police source said last night: "We don't think many more will try it. It's expensive, risky, and requires experience.'