2023-12-16 00:30:52
Sudanese migrants on the beach, in Sangatte, on December 15, 2023, after a fatal shipwreck in the English Channel. They had not taken a place on board the boat which capsized, due to lack of money to pay the smuggler. PALOMA LAUDET / OUT OF FORMAT / ITEM FOR “THE WORLD”
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, had not yet arrived in Calais (Pas-de-Calais), Friday December 15, when the night ended with the announcement of two deaths of migrants who had tried to join the England on board inflatable boats. It was first off the coast of Grand-Fort-Philippe that a person died during a shipwreck, reported the Manche and North Sea maritime prefecture.
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A few hours later, another boat capsized very close to the shore of Sangatte beach and a man, probably Sudanese, was found unconscious. As daylight revealed the cliffs of Dover, around thirty kilometers away on the other side of the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, two firefighters took turns to perform a cardiac massage on him, without success. On the beach, a group of seven haggard Sudanese miners observed the remains of this aborted crossing attempt mixed in the sand: life jacket packaging, a sleeping bag, an empty wallet, toothbrushes… The young people were not not on board the boat, due to lack of money to pay for the crossing. So they watch for the attempts of others with the hope of being able to join in sooner or later. Only two of them know how to swim.
The survivors of the shipwreck are already scattered. Several soaked and frozen children were taken to Calais hospital. Others are heading towards migrant camps on the coast, waiting for a new opportunity to pass through. A small group remains there, which the police want to question. A woman collapses upon learning that one of the boat’s passengers is dead. In the panic of the night, she had not realized what had happened. She herself reports falling into the water when the boat began to capsize dangerously. “It could have been one of us”she cries, addressing her husband, frozen in a survival blanket. “We were on the beach around 3:30 in the morning, reports another survivor. The police arrived after the smugglers had failed to completely inflate the boat. They told us to go up anyway. About ten minutes later the boat deflated and we headed back to shore. »
At least 25 deaths in 2023, according to associations
In 2023, nearly 60% of attempted sea crossings were aborted due to the intervention of law enforcement, according to the Hauts-de-France prefecture. This is particularly what Mr. Darmanin came to highlight in Calais on Friday. The minister also announced the release of 200,000 euros for a new police station, expected by the right-wing mayor Natacha Bouchart, and the construction of a cantonment for the CRS, thanks to an envelope of 25 million euros drawn from British funds. .
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