Several small boats made a dangerous journey across the Channel last weekend that left one person dead – The Guardian.
Rescuers found a man unconscious during a rescue operation early Sunday morning. The death was a result of the man catching diseases, the French maritime authority Premar reported. Moreover, nearly 75 people were on board the vessel. While some people agreed to disembark, others refused help offered during the rescue and the vessel went on under the supervision of a French patrol boat. Premar said in a statement:
Given the risks of falling overboard or injury to people in the event of forced intervention, the decision was made to let the other people on the boat continue on their way.
Earlier, six people died in three separate incidents in the Channel between 12 and 19 July, while children were among a group of about 50 people taken to Dover on Saturday aboard a UK Border Force vessel. French authorities said thirty-four more people rescued from a migrant boat off the coast of the northern French port of Calais after a call for help came in early Sunday morning.
The UK Home Office said 342 people in seven boats had crossed the Channel in the week to Saturday. Preliminary figures released in mid-June show more than 12,000 people have made the crossing this year. The figure is 18 per cent higher than at the same point last year, when 10,472 people crossed the border.
