According to French maritime authorities, an overcrowded migrant boat broke apart in the English Channel during a nocturnal effort to cross, killing one person and saving 61 others, Sky News reported Monday.
Following confirmation by the Maritime Prefect of the Channel and the North Sea that the ship had capsized in the water, French and British emergency services launched a massive rescue effort.
A mother and her child, both of whom were hypothermic, were among those saved. They were taken by helicopter to the hospital. The remaining survivors were moved south of Calais to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Three speedboats were sent out by the French rescue tug Abeille Normandie to pull fifty people out of the ocean.
British personnel also rescued 11 others, including 9 from the UK Border Force vessel Ranger and 2 from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Eventually, they were all taken on board the French tug.
Later, an unconscious person was discovered in the sea by a French Navy helicopter. After being recovered by the RNLI and transported to the Abeille Normandie, the person was pronounced deceased by the ship’s medical staff.
Confirming the death, the UK government offered its sympathies. We are able to establish that a small boat in French waters was involved in a tragic incident in the Channel that claimed one life.
“This latest tragedy underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings, and we continue to do everything we can to prevent callous criminals exploiting vulnerable people. Our thoughts are with those affected,” a spokesperson said, adding that efforts to prevent human smuggling continue.
The incident occurred amid a surge in Channel crossings. Over 12,000 people have arrived in the UK by small boats this year, including more than 1,100 in the past week alone.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer recently vowed to dismantle smuggling networks, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned of growing immigration pressures and pledged to reduce net migration by 2029. Source=Punch news
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