Twelve migrants dead after boat 'ripped open' in English Channel

Vessel was believed to be carrying about 70 migrants to the UK in the latest tragedy to hit the region

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  Firefighters and Civil Protection agents stand next to bags containing the bodies of migrants who died after the sinking of a migrant boat attempting to cross the English Channel to England, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, northern France. AFP

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  Firefighters look at the bags containing the bodies of migrants who died trying to cross the Channel to England in Boulogne-sur-Mer, northern France on September 3, 2024. At least 12 migrants died off the northern French coast on September 3, 2024 trying to cross the Channel to England in the deadliest such disaster this year, the French government said, as a major rescue operation was underway. Several were wounded after their boat carrying dozens ran into trouble off Wimereux, a town some five kilometres (three miles) from Boulogne-sur-Mer on the French coast. (Photo by BERNARD BARRON / AFP)

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  Firefighters carry an injured migrant on a stretcher in Boulogne-sur-Mer. AFP

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  Emergency services at the port of Boulogne-Sur-Mer. AP

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  French rescue forces at the scene. Reuters

At least 12 migrants have died after an overcrowded boat carrying them across the English Channel capsized, the French authorities said on Tuesday, as a massive rescue operation was under way.

The vessel was reportedly carrying about 70 migrants and the maritime prefecture for the area said the boat got into difficulty off Gris-Nez point on Tuesday morning. Most of those in the boat that capsized were from Africa, particularly from Eritrea.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told of as many as 75 people on the boats leaving the shores of northern France and said the vessel went down "very, very quickly".

"The people who go now, really it's people from the Horn of Africa who want to go to the UK," Mr Darmanin said. "We really do need to work together to stop these things happening."

He said most of the people on the boat were believed to have been from Eritrea, and most of the victims were women.

Prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said six minors and 10 women were among the dead, BBC News reported.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the incident “horrifying and deeply tragic” as she said efforts to dismantle “dangerous and criminal smuggler gangs” and to boost border security “must proceed apace”.

Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel near the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where a first-aid post was set up to treat victims, said: "Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open."

Etienne Baggio, a spokesman for the French maritime prefecture that oversees that stretch of sea, said rescuers had recovered 61 people from the waters with a sea temperature of about 20°C.

A group of migrants is brought into Dover, on England's south coast, after an incident in the English Channel. PA

At least 30 people have died or gone missing while trying to cross to the UK this year, according to the UN's International Organisation for Migration.

At least 2,109 migrants have tried to cross the English Channel on small boats in the past seven days, according to UK Home Office data updated on Tuesday. The data includes people found in the Channel or on arrival.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of non-government organisation the Refugee Council, said the group was “heartbroken by the tragic deaths in the latest incident in the Channel”.

Mr Solomon said that as well as taking action against the criminal gangs, the UK government must develop a plan to improve and expand safe routes for those seeking asylum.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with the victims and their loved ones,” he said. “The number of deaths in the Channel this year has been shockingly high. It is a devastating trend that shows the urgent need for a comprehensive and multipronged approach to reduce dangerous Channel crossings.”

“Enforcement alone is not the solution. Heightened security and policing measures on the French coast have led to increasingly perilous crossings, launching from more dangerous locations and in flimsy, overcrowded vessels.

“People risk their lives out of desperation, fleeing violence and persecution in countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan in search of safety. We must create effective and humane pathways for those seeking refuge, to reduce the need for dangerous crossings and prevent further tragedies.”

Separately, a Royal National Lifeboat Institution vessel with migrants on board docked in Dover, on the south coast of England, on Tuesday, after an incident in the Channel. It was not confirmed whether they were rescued from the same incident off the French coast.

A number of asylum seekers have died in recent weeks after vessels capsized soon after setting out from northern France.

Tony Smith, former head of the UK’s Border Force and now a border security consultant, recently told The National that migrants will continue to die in greater numbers in overcrowded boats in the English Channel as people smugglers make up for a lack of vessels.

He said success in reducing the supply of boats has resulted in the traffickers cramming ever more numbers of people on board flimsy vessels.

Mr Smith said that gangs of “Albanians and Kurds are all fighting one and other for the spaces and when one does get afloat they’re overloading them, which is why you’re seeing 70 or 80 on board and that’s very, very dangerous”.

"I think there’s going to be more deaths and I think it’s only going to get worse before it gets better,” he said.

Tackling illegal immigration has been a priority for the British and French governments. Thousands of migrants have arrived in Britain this year in small boats.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to work more closely to dismantle migrant smuggling networks.

The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats dangerous.