French authorities said at least five people died at sea on Tuesday while trying to cross the English Channel off France’s northern coast, including a young girl, as governments on both sides of the waterway Try to stop Stop migrants from making dangerous voyages to the UK.
According to French authorities, the deceased was on a severely overloaded inflatable boat with more than 100 people on board. The vessel was one of several spotted by the French coast guard near the town of Wimereux on Tuesday morning.
Just hours after the death UK Parliament passes highly controversial legislation Allowing the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda is a measure proposed by British authorities to stop people trying to cross the dangerous English Channel.
Several people fell from the boat, Jacques Billante, the premier of the Pas-de-Calais region, told reporters in Wimereux. The Coast Guard sent multiple vessels to assist, including a semi-rigid inflatable boat and a tugboat, and found several people on board unconscious and in critical condition.
Billante said six people were brought ashore, but first responders were unable to resuscitate five of them. The circumstances of the death and the identities of those involved are currently unclear.
Wimereux Mayor Jean-Luc Dubaele said one of the victims was a little girl under 10 years old. In January, five people died near the same beach as they attempted to cross the frigid waters of the English Channel.
“It’s hard to accept,” Mr Dubel said told French news channel BFMTV.
Billante said that nearly 50 people on the boat were brought ashore, and 4 of them suffered minor injuries and were sent to the hospital.
“Despite the complex and delicate situation, the 57 people on the inflatable boat remained on board with no hope of being rescued,” Mr Billante said, adding that the group had restarted the boat’s engines and continued to the UK.
In Britain, rights activists and immigration experts expressed deep skepticism about the law, which was approved by parliament on Monday night. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Conservative government have championed the move as a way to stop people arriving on British shores in small boats – even though they make up a tiny fraction of the asylum seekers entering the country parts, and fewer people. Total number of immigrants in the UK.
Last year, nearly 36,000 people attempted to cross the English Channel to reach the British coast. It is reported by the French maritime authorities.
One of the Channel’s worst migration-related tragedies occurred in 2021, 27 people die when boat capsizes. Many of those trying to reach Britain had fled the Middle East or Africa, gathering in small makeshift camps on France’s northern coast before trying to cross by dinghy.
British and French authorities have struck a number of deals over the past few years to curb the number of border crossings. last year, Both countries agree Britain will pay France more than $600 million over three years to help pay for drones, new detention centers and hundreds of police officers patrolling beaches.
