At least 12 migrants died off the northern French coast as they attempted to cross the English Channel to the UK, the French government reported.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin revealed that two migrants remained missing. Several people were injured after their boat carrying dozens of people crashed off the town of Wimereux, about five kilometres (three miles) from Boulogne-sur-Mer on the French coast.
All government services are mobilised to find the missing people and treat the injured.
A source close to the investigation said three minors were among the dead. The crew of the Minck, a French government ship, was the first to recognise and respond to the emergency, naval officer Etienne Baggio stated.
The French and British governments have tried for years to stem the flow of migrants, who pay smugglers thousands of euros to travel to England from France aboard small boats. British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called Tuesday’s death “horrifying and deeply tragic.”
Earlier this summer, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France’s President Emmanuel Macron pledged to step up “cooperation” to tackle the growing number of illegal migrants. However, on Monday alone, 351 migrants crossed the border on small boats, with 21,615 people making the journey this year, according to UK government statistics.
Both governments seek to break the business models of smugglers who transport people for thousands of euros each. However, Steve Smith, head of the Care4Calais charity, stated that investment in security measures “does not reduce crossings.”
It is simply pushing people to take ever increasing risks to do so. It’s time politicians were held accountable for their choice to dehumanise people seeking sanctuary from horrors back home. It’s time they ended these tragedies and introduced safe routes.
