Authorities said dozens of migrants died and others were injured Wednesday when their boat capsized off Calais in the English Channel as they tried to cross the sea from France to Britain. In this November 17 photo, French police officers patrol the beach looking for migrants in Wimereux, northern France.
Louis Witter / AP
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Louis Witter / AP
Authorities said dozens of migrants died and others were injured on Wednesday when their boat capsized off Calais in the English Channel as they tried to cross the sea from France to Britain. In this November 17 photo, French police officers patrol the beach looking for migrants in Wimereux, northern France.
Louis Witter / AP
PARIS – At least 31 migrants arriving in Britain were killed on Wednesday when their boat sank in the English Channel, what the French Interior Minister called the biggest tragedy involving migrants on the crossing. dangerous sea so far.
Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin said 34 people are believed to have been on the boat. Authorities found 31 bodies – including five women and a young girl – and two survivors, he said. One person still seems to be missing. The nationalities of the visitors were not immediately known.
A growing number of people fleeing conflict or poverty are venturing the perilous journey in a small, unworthy occupation from France, in the hope of gaining asylum or a better chance in France. Brother.
A joint French and British search operation for survivors was still underway late Wednesday.
An investigation into suspected traffickers has been opened
Mr. Darmanin told reporters in the French port city of Calais on Wednesday that four traffickers were arrested on suspicion of being linked to the sunken boat. He said two of the suspects later appeared in court.
The regional prosecutor has opened an investigation into aggravated manslaughter, organized illegal migration and other charges following the sinking. Prosecutor Lille Carole Etienne, whose office oversees the investigation, said officials were still working to identify the victims and determine their ages and nationalities.
She said the investigation could involve more countries as more information about the passengers becomes available.
“It is a day of great mourning for France, for Europe, for humanity to see these people die at sea,” Darmanin said.
He called for coordination with the UK, saying “the response must also come from the UK.”
Noting other deadly incidents in the past involving migrants on the same seas, Darmanin has attacked “criminal traffickers” who have led thousands of people to recklessly cross the border.
France and Britain clash over how to prevent intersections
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a meeting of the government’s crisis committee, and Darmanin rushed to meet survivors in a hospital in Calais.
The two governments have long been at odds over how to prevent the crossings, with both sides blaming the other for not doing enough.
Johnson said he was “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened.” He urged France to step up efforts to stem the flow of migrants across the English Channel and said Wednesday’s incident showed that the French authorities’ efforts to patrol its beaches were “not enough”.
He reiterated that Britain wanted to work with France to “break the business model” of gangsters.
“Our offer is to increase support but also work with our partners on the relevant beaches, on the launching pad for these boats,” Johnson told reporters. “We had a hard time convincing some of our partners, especially the French, to do things the way we thought the situation deserved.”
A French navy ship discovered several bodies in the water around 2 p.m. and retrieved several dead and wounded, some of whom were unconscious, a maritime agency spokesman said. .
Three French patrol boats joined a French helicopter and a British helicopter to search the area, according to the French maritime agency for the area.
Jean-Marc Puissesseau, the head of the ports of Calais and Boulogne, told the Associated Press that he spoke with one of the rescuers who brought some of the bodies back to the port of Calais.
“Smugglers are killers,” he said. “We were waiting for something like this to happen.”
While fatalities are occasionally reported en route, large numbers of people perishing on a single boat are rare.
The number of people traveling by boat has increased dramatically
Migrants from all over the world have long used northern France as a jumping off point to reach Britain, loading in lorries or by dinghy and other small boats run by traders. organization contraband. People fleeing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea and Sudan were among those gathered along towns in northern France.
The number of migrants using small boats to cross the canal has risen sharply this year, despite the high risks of getting worse in autumn weather.
More than 25,700 people have made the perilous journey in small boats this year – three times the total for all of 2020.
With erratic weather, cold seas, and heavy maritime traffic, the crossing is dangerous for inflatables and other small boats crammed with men, women, and children.
French and British authorities have picked up thousands of migrants off the coasts of France and Britain in recent weeks in a variety of rescue operations.
Darmanin stressed that France has worked hard to stop crosswalks, rescuing 7,800 people since January and stopping 671 people trying to cross on Wednesday alone.
“How many more times do we have to see people lose their lives trying to reach safety in the UK because of the deplorable lack of safe means to do so?” Tom Davies, Campaign Manager for Migrants and Refugees Rights Amnesty International UK.
He added: “We urgently need a new approach to the refugee problem, including genuine Anglo-French efforts to find safe refugee routes to avoid such tragedies. happen again.
