At least 31 migrants were presumed to have died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to Britain on Wednesday, making it one of the deadliest incidents on that dangerous route.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said 31 people had died, including five women and a small girl. A search-and-rescue operation involving several ships and helicopters was still underway Wednesday evening.
The United Nations-affiliated International Organization for Migration said the incident amounted to the largest known loss of life in the Channel since it started recording data in 2014.
The drowning occurred close to the coastal town of Calais, and French authorities opened an investigation into “aggravated manslaughter” and other potential charges, AFP reported.
Prime Minister Jean Castex called the incident a “tragedy” and condemned human traffickers who “exploit the distress and misery” of migrants.
From Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the drownings “appalling.” He said France and Britain had not done enough to stop the deadly traffic.
“What this shows is that the gangs who are sending people to sea in these dangerous crafts will literally stop at nothing,” Johnson said.
He added that efforts to slow the human smuggling by France, with $70 million in new funding by Britain to help patrol the beaches, “haven’t been enough.”
“Our offer is to increase our support, but also to work together with our partners on the beaches concerned, on the launching grounds for these boats,” Johnson said.
He said, “Because there is no doubt at all that the gangs concerned, unless they are shown that their business model won’t work, that they can’t simply get people over the Channel from France to the U.K., they will continue to deceive people, to put people’s lives at risk and, as I say, to get away with murder.”
At the Strait of Dover, the English Channel — one of the world’s busiest commercial shipping lanes — is some 21 miles wide, and can be dangerous for people in small flimsy boats when hammered by high winds.
Since 1999, more than 300 migrants have died attempting to cross, according to the Institute of Race Relations, a British think tank.
Nearly three times as many migrants have crossed by sea this year compared with last year. Earlier this month, 1,185 people ventured across, in a new daily record that the British Home Office described as “unacceptable.”
The influx of migrants — many of them Yemenis, Iraqis, Afghans and others seeking refuge — has turned into a point of contention in the post-Brexit tussle between Paris and London.
Conservative Party lawmakers have urged the British government to “take back control” of the Channel. Conservative bloggers have compared it to the U.S.-Mexico border, decrying what they see as a too-soft approach to illegal immigration.
In response, Home Secretary Priti Patel recently authorized tough new tactics to push boats back toward France. That policy, however, has not been implemented. Such aggressive moves could violate maritime law and endanger lives, if migrant vessels were unseaworthy and in distress.
Natalie Elphicke, a Conservative lawmaker for Dover, called Wednesday’s incident an “absolute tragedy” and said it highlighted why “saving lives at sea starts by stopping the boats entering the water in the first place.”
“As winter is approaching the seas will get rougher, the water colder, the risk of even more lives tragically being lost greater,” she said.
Pro-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, now a host on GB News, has warned that Johnson’s government is ignoring the crossings and opening England’s beaches to illegal immigration.
In a column in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Farage warned, “the migrant crisis is out of control, and the Prime Minister doesn’t seem to care.”
As it turns out, Farage himself out in a boat in the English Channel on Wednesday, filming migrant vessels and tweeting, as he prepared for an evening broadcast.
Ahead of its exit from the European Union last year, Britain deployed military drones to surveil people in dinghies trying to cross. On the other side, French police have cleared makeshift camps where hundreds of migrants had lived on the northern coast, while aid workers urge authorities to find housing alternatives.
Some asylum seekers want to reach Britain to reunite with family, aid workers say, and others because they speak English.
Responding to the increase in recent crossing attempts, a sporting goods company last week stopped selling kayaks in its shops in northern France.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said 31 people had died, including five women and a small girl. A search-and-rescue operation involving several ships and helicopters was still underway Wednesday evening.
The United Nations-affiliated International Organization for Migration said the incident amounted to the largest known loss of life in the Channel since it started recording data in 2014.
The drowning occurred close to the coastal town of Calais, and French authorities opened an investigation into “aggravated manslaughter” and other potential charges, AFP reported.
Prime Minister Jean Castex called the incident a “tragedy” and condemned human traffickers who “exploit the distress and misery” of migrants.
From Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the drownings “appalling.” He said France and Britain had not done enough to stop the deadly traffic.
“What this shows is that the gangs who are sending people to sea in these dangerous crafts will literally stop at nothing,” Johnson said.
He added that efforts to slow the human smuggling by France, with $70 million in new funding by Britain to help patrol the beaches, “haven’t been enough.”
“Our offer is to increase our support, but also to work together with our partners on the beaches concerned, on the launching grounds for these boats,” Johnson said.
He said, “Because there is no doubt at all that the gangs concerned, unless they are shown that their business model won’t work, that they can’t simply get people over the Channel from France to the U.K., they will continue to deceive people, to put people’s lives at risk and, as I say, to get away with murder.”
At the Strait of Dover, the English Channel — one of the world’s busiest commercial shipping lanes — is some 21 miles wide, and can be dangerous for people in small flimsy boats when hammered by high winds.
Since 1999, more than 300 migrants have died attempting to cross, according to the Institute of Race Relations, a British think tank.
Nearly three times as many migrants have crossed by sea this year compared with last year. Earlier this month, 1,185 people ventured across, in a new daily record that the British Home Office described as “unacceptable.”
The influx of migrants — many of them Yemenis, Iraqis, Afghans and others seeking refuge — has turned into a point of contention in the post-Brexit tussle between Paris and London.
Conservative Party lawmakers have urged the British government to “take back control” of the Channel. Conservative bloggers have compared it to the U.S.-Mexico border, decrying what they see as a too-soft approach to illegal immigration.
In response, Home Secretary Priti Patel recently authorized tough new tactics to push boats back toward France. That policy, however, has not been implemented. Such aggressive moves could violate maritime law and endanger lives, if migrant vessels were unseaworthy and in distress.
Natalie Elphicke, a Conservative lawmaker for Dover, called Wednesday’s incident an “absolute tragedy” and said it highlighted why “saving lives at sea starts by stopping the boats entering the water in the first place.”
“As winter is approaching the seas will get rougher, the water colder, the risk of even more lives tragically being lost greater,” she said.
Pro-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, now a host on GB News, has warned that Johnson’s government is ignoring the crossings and opening England’s beaches to illegal immigration.
In a column in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Farage warned, “the migrant crisis is out of control, and the Prime Minister doesn’t seem to care.”
As it turns out, Farage himself out in a boat in the English Channel on Wednesday, filming migrant vessels and tweeting, as he prepared for an evening broadcast.
Ahead of its exit from the European Union last year, Britain deployed military drones to surveil people in dinghies trying to cross. On the other side, French police have cleared makeshift camps where hundreds of migrants had lived on the northern coast, while aid workers urge authorities to find housing alternatives.
Some asylum seekers want to reach Britain to reunite with family, aid workers say, and others because they speak English.
Responding to the increase in recent crossing attempts, a sporting goods company last week stopped selling kayaks in its shops in northern France.
