In the Channel, at least six migrants die in a new shipwreck, missing passengers

2023-08-12 13:05:37

It’s a new drama in the Channel. While trying to reach the British coast, six migrants lost their lives after the sinking of their makeshift boat on the night of Friday to Saturday, off Sangatte, a few kilometers from Calais (Pas-de-Calais).

A spokeswoman for the Maritime Prefecture (Premar) initially reported one death and five people in serious condition. “Five to ten” passengers are still wanted at midday, indicate the maritime prefecture and the prosecution.

“My thoughts are with the victims”

In the middle of the 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. 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. “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.

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.

“My thoughts are with the victims,” wrote Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on X (ex-Twitter), welcoming “the commitment of the rescue teams mobilized around the @MarineNationale”.

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

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755 migrants crossed the Channel on Thursday

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.