At least six Afghans died on Saturday August 12 in the sinking in the Channel of a boat of about sixty migrants trying to reach England. One to two passengers were still missing in the evening, while crossing attempts have multiplied in recent days. Minors were also on board, authorities said.
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The six people who died are Afghan men, aged around 30, the deputy prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Philippe Sabatier, told AFP. The passengers were almost all Afghans, with some Sudanese », and counted « some minors “, he added.
In total, 58 to 59 survivors were rescued, 36 on the French side and 22 to 23 by the British coastguard, detailed the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea (Premar), in a new report at 4 p.m. (2 p.m. GMT).
” A maximum of two people could still be missing and are therefore currently still wanted at sea “, with two ships, a helicopter and a plane mobilized on the French side. Seven slightly injured landed in Calais were taken to hospital, the others being questioned by the police. One of the victims had been evacuated in the morning by helicopter to Calais hospital, the five others taken care of by the Notre-Dame du Risban canoe of the National Society for Rescue at Sea (SNSM).
The survivors were taken by bus to a prefectural emergency reception room.
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“Inflatable canoe”
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 @Navy which saved around fifty shipwrecked people.@HerveBerville goes there.
— Elisabeth BORNE (@Elisabeth_Borne) August 12, 2023
” My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this tragic loss. “, also reacted the British Minister of the Interior Suella Braverman, while two British ships participated in the rescue.
The boat, ” presumably an unsuitable inflatable boat “given the number of passengers, according to Philippe Sabatier, was shipwrecked off Sangatte, in the Pas-de-Calais, ” around 2 a.m. (midnight UT) “, according to the prosecution, in calm seas. Signaled at the stop ” at the end of the night “, by a merchant vessel, she was located sinking ” early in the morning by the public service patrol boat Cormoran, detailed the Premar.
French Secretary of State for the Sea Hervé Berville pays tribute to the victim and points the finger at the responsibility of the smugglers
Multiplication of attempts since Wednesday
A spokesperson for the Utopia56 association, which supports migrants, pointed out: repression ” put in place against this migratory traffic, which ” increases the dangerousness of crossings and pushes people to take more and more risks “.
Since the evening of Wednesday August 9, attempts at crossings had multiplied, thanks to the return of good weather. The British Home Office recorded 755 arrivals on Thursday, a daily record since the start of the year.
(With AFP)
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