At least 12 dead after boat sinks in English Channel

AT LEAST 12 people trying to cross from France to Britain have died after their boat sank in the Channel.

The deaths were confirmed today by the French coast guard, after a rescue operation took place off the coast of Cap Gris-Nez, off the coast of Wimereux.

At the time of going to press, the Morning Star reported that 65 people had been rescued and two were still missing.

According to the mayor of Le Portel – where the surviving refugees were being treated – the bottom of the boat “tore open.”

The people on board the boat ended up in the water and some of them needed urgent medical attention, the French coast guard said.

According to official data, more than 30 people have died this year on the perilous journey to a safer life. Today’s tragedy was the deadliest.

Last year that number was 12.

Migrant rights campaigners expressed anger over the deaths and repeatedly called for safer, legal routes.

Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, said: “One life lost in the Channel is too many, but this year these tragedies have happened much more often and it is a very worrying trend that must be stopped.

“The question that must be asked of every political leader, on both sides of the Channel, is how many lives will be lost before these avoidable tragedies come to an end?

“Their continued obsession and investment in security measures does not lead to a reduction in the number of border crossings, but simply forces people to take ever greater risks to achieve this.”

Mr Smith said it was time for politicians to be held to account “for their choice to dehumanise people seeking refuge from the horrors of their own countries.”

He added: “It is time for these tragedies to end and for safe routes to be introduced.”

Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK said that establishing such routes would prevent further loss of life, noting that almost 200 people have died since 2018.

“No amount of ‘crush the gangs’ policing and government rhetoric will prevent these disasters from happening again and again if the needs of the people exploited by those gangs are not addressed,” he said.

“Until British ministers and their colleagues in France start sharing responsibility for the people making the dangerous Channel crossing – and that includes creating safe asylum routes to the UK – government policy will continue to cause more lives to be lost.”

Nadine Tunasi of Freedom from Torture said: “No one gets into an overcrowded and unseaworthy rowboat to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes without desperately seeking safety.

“Too much time has been wasted on gimmicks and hateful politics, while conflict continues to drive people to take dangerous routes to seek refuge.

“This government would do well to focus on conflict mediation and humanitarian aid to stem the flow of desperate refugees.

“But that will take time, and in the absence of safe routes, people like me will be forced to continue risking their lives.”

Ms Tunasi called on the French and British authorities to “urgently focus on saving lives and ensuring access to protection on their own soil.”

Enver Solomon, executive director of the Refugee Council, said enforcement alone was not the solution, adding: “Increased security and policing measures on the French coast have led to increasingly dangerous crossings, with crossings taking place from more dangerous locations and in shaky, overcrowded vessels.”

“In addition to taking action against the criminal gangs themselves, the government must develop a plan to improve and expand safe routes for those seeking safety.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the deaths “appalling” and “deeply tragic.”

She said “vital” efforts to dismantle “dangerous and criminal smuggling rings” and improve border security “must continue apace.”

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin described the incident as a “terrible shipwreck,” adding in a message on X: “All public services are mobilized to find the missing and care for the victims.”

A French coast guard spokesman said the rescue operation was underway and that a number of helicopters and boats were being deployed, including those from the French navy.

The International Organization for Migration, which records Channel crossing deaths as part of the Missing Migrant Project, estimates that 226 people, including 35 children, were missing or had died after attempting to cross the Channel in January this year.

According to the French coast guard, at least 19 people have died in 2024 before Tuesday’s incident, including nine since early July.

Last week, France and Britain agreed to step up cooperation in combating so-called illegal migration across the Channel.

Since then, at least 2,109 people have attempted to cross the border, the highest number of the year.

A group of people believed to be migrants are taken to Dover, Kent aboard the RNLI Dungeness Lifeboat following an incident involving a small boat in the English Channel, September 3, 2024