Four people died overnight trying to cross the Channel to reach Britain, French officials have said.
A rescue operation took place off Boulogne-sur-Mer on France’s northern coast after reports of people in the sea. Four of those pulled from the sea had drowned.
At least 53 survivors were rescued early on Friday morning, according to Whitehall sources. They are being cared for by the French authorities.
The drownings happened after one of the tubes from the dinghy the group were travelling in deflated, according to the French maritime prefect of the Channel and North Sea.
The French coastguard spotted the dinghy at 4.30am and a French navy boat and a helicopter were drafted in to assist with the rescue.
Three people were found unconscious in the water and a fourth clinging to the wreckage of the dinghy. None were able to be resuscitated. The survivors were taken back to the quayside at Boulogne.
An HM Coastguard spokesperson said assistance was offered to the French coastguard on Friday. “An RNLI lifeboat from Dover and Border Force vessel were initially sent to provide support but were not required to attend the scene,” they said.
The deaths are the first to happen since Keir Starmer took office. He has pledged to “stop the criminal gangs” but it is unlikely that any new policy can be put into action quickly enough to make a dent in the peak in crossings through the summer months.
The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “The further loss of life in the Channel this morning is truly awful. My thoughts are with all those affected. Criminal gangs are making vast profit from putting lives at risk. We are accelerating action with international partners to pursue and bring down dangerous smuggler gangs.”
The last major incident was on 23 April when five people died off the French coast trying to reach the UK.
The deaths take the total number killed on the perilous crossing from France to Britain this year to 19.
Home Office figures show 419 people made the journey across the Channel from France to the UK in six boats on Tuesday. The figures mean an average of about 70 people for each boat and take the provisional total for 2024 to date to 14,058, according to the Press Association.
The chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said: “This devastating loss of life in the Channel highlights the scale of the challenge facing the new government. Preventing more deaths which are now happening too often is a critical and urgent task.
“We need to bring an end to men, women and children who have fled war and oppression in countries such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iran being driven into the arms of the smuggling gangs by opening safe routes so refugees wanting to be with their families are not forced to take deadly risks. We also need to put in place cooperation agreements with our European allies to provide safe passage from France and trial the use of refugee visas.”
The shadow home secretary, James Cleverly, said on X: “Reports of more deaths in the Channel are a tragedy. As a country we must do everything in our power to stop the boats and put an end to this vile trade in human suffering.”
In a report published on Friday the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has called on the UK’s new government to uphold the right to asylum and for regional and international cooperation to deal with refugee issues.
Vicky Tennant, UNHCR’s representative to the UK, said: “In recent years, arrivals across the Channel have generated a perception of crisis, often obscuring the desperation driving these journeys, as refugees move in search of safety and stability. While the challenges of addressing irregular movements of refugees and migrants are real, practical solutions are at hand that work for states and refugees.”
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS91ay1uZXdzL2FydGljbGUvMjAyNC9qdWwvMTIvZm91ci1wZW9wbGUtZHJvd24tY2hhbm5lbC1ib3Vsb2duZS1zdXItbWVyLWZyYW5jZdIBaWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS91ay1uZXdzL2FydGljbGUvMjAyNC9qdWwvMTIvZm91ci1wZW9wbGUtZHJvd24tY2hhbm5lbC1ib3Vsb2duZS1zdXItbWVyLWZyYW5jZQ?oc=5
2024-07-12 07:47:00Z
CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS91ay1uZXdzL2FydGljbGUvMjAyNC9qdWwvMTIvZm91ci1wZW9wbGUtZHJvd24tY2hhbm5lbC1ib3Vsb2duZS1zdXItbWVyLWZyYW5jZdIBaWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS91ay1uZXdzL2FydGljbGUvMjAyNC9qdWwvMTIvZm91ci1wZW9wbGUtZHJvd24tY2hhbm5lbC1ib3Vsb2duZS1zdXItbWVyLWZyYW5jZQ
