Migrants attempt to cross Channel, day after 12 people died in boat crash

Less than a day after 12 migrants died when their small inflatable boat tore apart during a failed attempt to cross the Channel, several others were spotted Wednesday attempting another Channel crossing on an overcrowded vessel off the coast of northern France. French patrol boats kept a close eye on the boat, watching as the rickety craft struggled through the sea.

The mayor of Wimereux, a French coastal town where Associated Press journalists filmed the inflatable boat full of people on Wednesday morning, called on French and British officials to do more to stem the number of migrants attempting the crossing.

“Unfortunately, every day is like this for us. The smugglers, a criminal network, continue to send people to their deaths in the Channel. It is really unacceptable, scandalous. And it is high time that a lasting solution is found with Great Britain,” Mayor Jean-Luc Dubaële said by telephone.

That migrants were prepared to risk their lives to cross, so soon after dozens of others had lost their lives, underscores the scale of the migration problem for the French and British governments.

“Let’s ask ourselves: Why do they want to go to Britain? Because there is something that draws them there,” he said. “They can apply for asylum in France. (But) nobody is asking for the right to asylum in France. They all want to go to Britain. So it is high time that we sit down with the new British government. The British government is prepared to discuss all this. So let’s use that opportunity.”

The pressing issue of cross-Channel migration was a major focus of the UK general election in July, which the Labour Party won convincingly, appointing its leader, Keir Starmer, as the new prime minister.

The French maritime agency that oversees that stretch of the busy waterway between France and Britain confirmed to AP that the inflatable vessel was carrying migrants on Wednesday. AP journalists estimated that 40 to 50 people were on board.

According to the maritime agency, French boats are keeping an eye on the inflatable vessel in case any problems arise or the occupants call for help.

According to the agency, the French coastal patrol vessel Armoise was involved in the operation, accompanied by its own smaller boat.

The inflatable device was so full that some people sitting next to each other on the air-filled tires dangled their legs over the edge.

Many wore orange life jackets. A small patrol boat flying a French flag approached the inflatable boat at one point and a crew on board threw more orange life jackets, about half a dozen, to the migrants, who caught them.

The grey sea of ​​the Channel was relatively calm, with small waves lapping against the beach from where the AP team was filming, as people strolled along the sand and walked their dogs.

Yet the inflatable ship appeared to move slowly. Although AP journalists filmed it for more than two hours, it remained visible from shore, with the smaller French patrol boat buzzing around it and the larger one shadowing it from further away.

In a statement to AP, the French maritime agency said that while maritime law prohibits the use of makeshift inflatable boats at sea, it is too dangerous to force them back to shore because the boat is so full.

“It is difficult to achieve with more than 50 people on board who stubbornly refuse to be rescued. The main risk is a stampede on board and then a capsize, these boats are neither stable nor reliable. The risk of loss of life is too high for a forced intervention, the choice was made to prioritize the protection of the people on board and by simply remotely controlling the navigation capabilities of these boats,” the statement said.

“So it is more a question of ethics than blind application of the law,” it added.

At least 21,720 migrants have managed to cross the English Channel so far this year, according to the UK government’s tally. That’s 3% more than the same period last year, but 19% lower than the same period in 2022.

The boat that broke apart off the French coast on Tuesday, throwing 65 people into the sea, was one of several attempts that day. British authorities said at least 317 migrants made it through, arriving aboard five boats.

One of the first measures the new British government immediately implemented was to scrap the previous Conservative government’s plan to send some migrants arriving in small boats to Rwanda rather than allow them to seek asylum in Britain.

Starmer said the plan was a “gimmick” and would not act as a deterrent. Instead, his government has opted to use some of the money saved by scrapping the program to set up a beefed-up border force to “crush” the criminal gangs behind the small boat arrivals.

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