2023-08-12 12:52:38
New tragedy in the English Channel: six exiles, including an Afghan, died this Saturday August 12 after the sinking in the night of a boat of migrants trying to reach England, and “five to ten” passengers were still wanted at midday, according to the maritime prefecture and the prosecution.
Mid-morning, “Six people were recovered in serious condition and one of them, evacuated by helicopter to Calais hospital, was declared dead”first announced the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Premar) in a press release.
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Are we worthy in the face of migrants?
The five other victims, taken care of by a lifeboat from the National Society for Sea Rescue (SNSM) were finally declared dead on the ship’s arrival at the port of Calais, said a spokeswoman for Premar.
The first victim identified is a man of Afghan origin aged 25 to 30, said the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor’s office, which has opened an investigation.
Of “five to ten” other passengers are still wanted at midday, while 55 others were taken care of by the emergency services, said the Boulogne prosecutor’s office.
Research still in progress
“My thoughts are with the victims”wrote Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on X (ex-Twitter), welcoming “the commitment of rescue teams mobilized around the national navy”. The French Secretary of State for the Sea Hervé Berville is expected on site, adds Elisabeth Borne.
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This morning, a migrant boat capsized off Calais. My thoughts are with the victims.
I salute the commitment of the rescue teams mobilized around the @MarineNationale which saved around fifty shipwrecked people.@HerveBerville goes there.
— Élisabeth BORNE (@Elisabeth_Borne) August 12, 2023
Twitter – Elisabeth BORNE on Twitter
On the French side, the search mobilized three ships, a helicopter and a plane at midday to survey the area as well as possible. Two British ships also took part in the rescue.
The boat was shipwrecked off Sangatte, in Pas-de-Calais, on the northern coast of France, “around 2 hours”according to the prosecution.
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The Cormoran patrol boat of the French Navy has returned to moor in a discreet basin in the port of Calais, out of sight, noted an AFP journalist. In total, according to Premar, 39 people are on board this patrol boat, the other survivors having been rescued by the British coast guard.
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Many fire engines and police forces are on site, while civil protection tents have been set up.
A spokesperson for the British Coast Guard told AFP that they “assisted the French authorities” for this relief operation.
More than 100,000 migrants have made the crossing since 2018
Since Wednesday evening, attempts to cross migrants aboard small boats have multiplied from the northern coast of France, thanks to weather conditions that have become more favorable again. For the night of Thursday to Friday, the Premar had reported the rescue, on the French side, of 116 migrants, including children, on three separate boats.
The British Home Office for its part indicated that Thursday, 755 migrants who made the perilous crossing to the English coast were spotted, a daily record since the beginning of the year.
According to a count made by AFP from official British figures, more than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel illegally in small boats since the development of this phenomenon in 2018.
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