2024-09-15 20:28:34
Paris: At least eight people died while trying to cross the English Channel from northern France, French maritime authorities said on Sunday. The incident occurred when authorities spotted a boat in distress near a beach in the northern town of Ambleteuse, with dozens of people on board. A statement issued by the French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea said that a French rescue vessel was deployed to the area and the rescue team provided medical assistance to 53 migrants on the beach.
Second accident in two weeks
“Despite the immediate rescue efforts, eight people died,” the statement said. It said a search at sea failed to find anyone. The incident came less than two weeks after the year’s deadliest disaster. French and British governments have for years been trying to stem the flow of migrants, who pay smugglers thousands of euros per person to cross from France to England on small boats. A police source told AFP the accident happened shortly after the boat left.
12 migrants were killed a few days ago
Migrants have made several dangerous attempts to cross the Channel in small boats in recent days, officials said on Saturday. 200 people were rescued in 24 hours on Friday and Saturday. This month, 12 migrants died off the northern French coast when a boat carrying dozens of people, most of them from Eritrea, capsized. This brings the number of migrant deaths in the Channel this year to 37, up from 12 in 2023.
British officials have reported that more than 22,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to reach England since the beginning of this year. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to strengthen cooperation to tackle the surge in illegal migrants this summer. Crossing the English Channel is often dangerous. In November 2021, 27 migrants died when their boat capsized. It was the deadliest disaster to date.
(Input from agency)