Eight migrants dead as overcrowded vessel capsizes in channel

Eight migrants died early Sunday when their overcrowded vessel capsized while trying to cross the Channel from France to England, French authorities said, less than two weeks after the deadliest such disaster this year.

The latest tragedy means 46 migrants have lost their lives attempting to reach England from France so far this year, a regional official said, up from 12 in 2023.

The French and British governments have sought for years to stop the flow of migrants, who pay smugglers thousands of euros per head for the passage on overloaded inflatable dinghies.

A police source told AFP the accident occurred shortly after the vessel embarked.

Regional prefect Jacques Billant said the incident happened at around 1 am (23:00 GMT on Saturday) off the coast of the northern town of Ambleteuse.

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“The toll was terrible, with eight people reported dead,” he told the press near the site of the accident.

Six survivors were hospitalised, including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia, he added.

The boat had set off from the Slack river that flows into the sea between the towns of Wimereux and Ambleteuse.

It had 59 people on board from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran, Billant said.

“It quickly got into difficulty and ran aground… The boat was torn apart on the rocks,” he said.

- ‘Saw them die’ -
Maritime authorities said Saturday that migrants had made numerous attempts to cross the Channel in recent days, with 200 people rescued in 24 hours over Friday and Saturday alone.

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The latest incident comes a few weeks after at least 12 migrants, mostly from Eritrea, died off the northern French coast on September 3, when their boat carrying dozens of people capsized.

An Eritrean survivor Biniam Semay, 34, said he had lost his 18-year-old sister in that accident.

Another Eritrean who was rescued, and gave his name only as Amanuel, said “there were a lot of girls and young boys, and I saw them die”.

More than 22,000 migrants have arrived in England by crossing the Channel since the beginning of this year, according to British officials.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France’s President Emmanuel Macron pledged this summer to strengthen “cooperation” in handling the surge in undocumented migrant numbers.

The Channel crossings often prove perilous, and in November 2021, 27 migrants died when their boat capsized in the deadliest single such disaster to date.

French authorities seek to stop migrants taking to the water but do not intervene once they are afloat except for rescue purposes, citing safety concerns.