The boat had barely left the beach. It was about 02:00 on Sunday in northern France, and dozens of people were still clambering aboard when it overturned. Five of them died.
A French maritime official told the BBC the toll was five. Rescuers worked through the night at Wimereux, south of Calais, and pulled dozens more from the water. By the prefecture’s account, about 70 people had been trying to get into the small boat, bound for England. A patrolling tugboat found the bodies.
Around 50 firefighters turned out, along with several police vehicles, boats and a French Navy helicopter, La Voix du Nord reported. Survivors went to a local community centre. Of the injured, one person was in critical condition in Boulogne-sur-Mer and another was hurt but not seriously.
Since it happened close to the beach in French waters, the UK Coastguard had no involvement.
An investigation and a warning
Prosecutors in Boulogne-sur-Mer opened an investigation for “aggravated manslaughter.” Pas-de-Calais prefect Jacques Billant blamed criminal networks for putting migrants at risk. In 7C water, he said, a person has about 10 minutes to live after a capsize. Post-mortem tests will show whether the victims drowned or succumbed to “thermal shock.”
Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon called for decisive action. The deaths, he said, “must be a wake-up call,” and he urged safe routes for people escaping war-torn countries.
Politics in Britain
Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the loss of life was “heartbreaking.” On Sunday he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that Britain had given France “a huge amount” of help on policing and intelligence, and that the Rwanda bill, which would send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, was “essential.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to bring the policy back after the Supreme Court ruled the first version unlawful. Tory MPs are leaning on him over it.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who appeared on the same programme, called it a “tragic loss of life.” He agreed that the crossings must stop but dismissed the Rwanda scheme as a “gimmick.”
Crossing figures
The deaths came after nearly four weeks, up to 12 January, with no recorded Channel crossings. The Home Office said poor weather was the reason. The same period a year earlier saw 503 migrants detected. For all of 2023 the provisional count is 29,437 crossings, down from 45,774 in 2022, the highest total since records started in 2018.
Sources
- Five migrants die trying to cross English Channel in boat
- Five migrants die trying to cross English Channel in boat
