At least five migrants, including a child, died after “a crowd movement” at sea during an attempt to cross the Channel on the night of Monday to Tuesday from a beach in northern France.
2 mins
The events took place at 5:00 a.m. (3:00 a.m. UT), in the north of the France, when a small boat with more than 110 people on board set out to sea from Wimereux beach, according to the prefecture’s account. “ After a first stranding on a sandbank, the boat set sail again », indicated the institution. “ A crowd movement apparently occurred in the overloaded boat, causing several victims. »
The attempted crossing took place on calm seas and with clear weather, but with the temperature barely a few degrees above zero.
Read alsoDespite winter and setbacks, migrants still determined to cross the Channel
Twelve deaths in 2023
The last tragedy dates back to March 3 with the death by drowning of a seven-year-old girl in the Aa canal, a small river in the region which flows into the North Sea, while she was on a small boat with 15 other migrants.
At the end of February, a 22-year-old Turk died after falling from his boat off the coast of Calais and two others migrants are missing. An Eritrean was indicted and imprisoned on Saturday in this case. On the night of January 13 to 14, five migrants, including a 14-year-old Syrian teenager, died in Wimereux while trying to reach a boat already at sea in water at 9 degrees.
As the weather was good, we knew there was going to be a lot of traffic…
Dany Patoux, co-president of Osmose 62
Read alsoMigration: members of relief NGOs in the Mediterranean obtain justice after 7 years of battle in Italy
Twelve migrants lost their lives in 2023 while trying to cross the Channel, according to the Channel and North Sea Maritime Prefecture. That same year, 29,437 migrants reached English shores illegally, compared to 45,774 in 2022, a record year, according to figures from the British Interior Ministry.
The British Parliament approved on the night of Monday to Tuesday the bill allowing the expulsion to Rwanda of asylum seekers who entered the United Kingdom illegally.
Announced two years ago by the conservative government of Rishi Sunak and presented as a flagship measure of its policy to combat illegal immigration, this project aims to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – wherever they come from. come- entered the United Kingdom illegally, notably by crossing the English Channel on inflatable boats.
Read alsoBritish Parliament adopts bill on expulsion of migrants in Rwanda