Several dead as migrant boat crossing Channel from France capsizes
Authorities rescue 55 passengers, while some are still missing in the incident that claimed at least six lives.
Several British and French ships were involved in the early morning search and rescue effort after a patrol boat reported that a migrant boat was sinking off Sangatte. / Photo: Reuters
Six people have been killed after a boat carrying migrants heading to Britain sank in the Channel early Saturday, French maritime officials said, as a search continued to find those still missing.
Local mayor Franck Dhersin said early on Saturday that a vast rescue operation was launched around 0400 GMT (6:00 am local) as dozens of migrant boats tried to make the crossing at the same time.
A spokeswoman from the French coastal authority Premar said between five and 10 passengers were still missing, while 55 had been rescued. Some of those rescued were taken to the French port of Calais.
"We saved 54 people, including one woman," said Anne Thorel, a volunteer who was on one of the rescue boats, describing the migrants' frantic efforts to bale water out of their sinking vessel using their shoes.
"There were too many of them on the (migrant) boat," she told Reuters by phone as she returned to the shore.
Earlier officials had reported that one man of Afghan origin was killed and five others were in critical condition.
Dangerous crossings
UK government figures show that the number of migrant Channel crossings since the start of 2018 exceeded 100,000 this week. The number so far this year stands at nearly 16,000.
The Channel between France and Britain is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats dangerous.
Human traffickers typically overload rickety dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at risk of being lashed by the waves as they try to reach British shores.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has spent the week making announcements about its efforts to reduce the number of asylum seekers, hoping to win support from voters as the ruling Conservative Party trails in opinion polls.
French authorities have stepped up patrols and other deterrent measures after London agreed in March to send Paris hundreds of millions of euros annually towards the effort.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.