Three dead after migrant boat ‘with 50 people on board’ sinks in English Channel | World news

On October 23, 2024By Yukito

French maritime authorities said three people died after a pontoon carrying migrants sank in the English Channel.

The incident occurred this morning off the coast of Sangatte, near Calais.

An estimated 50 migrants fell into the water shortly after 8 a.m., about 2km from the coastline near Calais.

At least 45 people have been rescued, but French authorities are continuing to search for more people still in the water.

The UK Border Force also confirmed it was “actively engaging in search and rescue.”

Two victims were given first aid after being rescued from the water, but were pronounced dead by doctors after being taken to Calais.

The rescue operation began after a life jacket was noticed in the water.

Overloading the weak boats used in crossing attempts sometimes causes them to collapse, break apart and sink. French maritime authorities said inflatable ships designed to carry no more than 20 people often attempt to sail with three times that number on board.

The prosecutor’s office in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer opened an investigation into the incident.

The rescue operation has resulted in the temporary suspension of some commercial ferry services on the busy route between ports in northern France and the southern coast of Britain. Due to the rescue operation, delays on the Dover-Calais route reached up to 120 minutes.

This year has been the deadliest on record for Channel crossings, with more than 50 deaths so far. Many drowned and others suffocated from the crush of so many people crammed into small, tight boats.

Her daughter died last week she “slipped” out of her father’s hands when the pontoon they were riding in capsized.

Four migrants, including a two-year-old child, also died earlier this month in two separate incidents while making similar attempts to cross the border. Last month, at least 20 migrants died in several ship disasters in the English Channel.

Home Office data shows that in 2024, more than 28,000 people reached the UK via the English Channel.

Arrivals are 8% higher than at the same point in 2023, at 26,116, and 25% lower than in 2022, at 37,603.

Wanda Wyporska, chief executive of the charity Safe Passage International, said of this year’s Channel death toll: ‘We cannot normalize or accept this.

“This government must urgently open safe routes. Without them, smugglers will continue to exploit the lack of safe alternatives for people fleeing war and persecution.

“We fear we will only see more people die trying to gain protection here.”