At least eight migrants have died whilst trying to cross the channel from France to the UK, the French authorities reported on Sunday.
French authorities have reported that at least eight migrants have lost their lives whilst trying to reach the UK by crossing the channel from France.
The disaster happened on Saturday just before midnight when authorities detected a boat in distress near a beach in the northern town of Ambleteuse, carrying dozens of people.
A French rescue ship was sent to the scene, and rescue services provided medical aid to 53 migrants on the beach, according to a statement from the French maritime authorities responsible for the Channel and the North Sea.
“Despite the emergency care provided, eight people have died,” the statement reported.
No additional people were found during the sea search.
Six individuals, including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia, were hospitalised “in relative emergency,” Pas-de-Calais prefect Jacques Billant told French media on Sunday.
The survivors are from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran, were taken to a sports hall in Ambleteuse, according to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture. Whilst an investigation into the incident has been launched by the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor’s office.
Eritrea, Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan have all suffered from wars that have killed many thousands of people in recent years, and some of the migrants may have intended to claim asylum in the UK.
The fact that migrants were prepared to risk their lives so soon after a dozen others lost theirs trying to cross the busy waterway from France to Britain underscored the magnitude of the problem for the French and UK governments.
In what was the worst boat tragedy of this year, twelve migrants died on 4 September when their small inflatable ripped apart on a failed effort to cross the English Channel.
Cross-Channel migration was a key focus in the UK general election in July, which the Labour Party won resoundingly to make its leader, Keir Starmer, the new prime minister.
One of the first measures the new UK government immediately enacted was to scrap the previous Conservative government’s plan to send some migrants arriving in small boats to Rwanda rather than being allowed to seek asylum in Britain. Human rights groups criticised the plan.
Starmer called the plan a “gimmick” and wouldn’t act as a deterrent. Instead, his government has opted to divert some of the money saved from ditching the programme into setting up a strengthened border force to “smash” the criminal gangs behind the small-boat arrivals.