At least 13 people have died while dozens more have been rescued from the water, French authorities have said
A migrant boat capsized and sank off Cap Gris-Nez in northern France on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of at least 13 people, according to French media reports citing local and coast guard authorities.
Emergency crews rescued over 50 people from the water, some of whom were in critical condition, the local maritime prefecture reported.
Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Le Portel, where survivors were transported for medical care, told Le Parisien that the boat capsized after its hull gave way due to the large number of people onboard. Barbarin stated that the boat’s bottom “ripped open” under the weight.
While the incident occurred in the early morning, rescue operations were still ongoing on Tuesday afternoon, as at least two people were still believed to be missing. A French coast guard spokesperson confirmed that multiple helicopters and boats, including those from the navy, were assisting in the rescue efforts. The UK coast guard was also placed on standby.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called Tuesday’s tragedy a “terrible disaster” in a post on X. Commenting on the incident, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as “horrifying and deeply tragic” and accused those facilitating illegal Channel crossings of intentionally endangering lives for financial gain.
“The gangs behind this appalling and unscrupulous trafficking of human lives are cramming more and more people onto increasingly unseaworthy inflatable boats and sending them into the Channel even in very bad weather. They are not interested in anything except the profits they make from it,” she said in a statement.
Tuesday’s shipwreck brings this year’s death toll for migrants crossing the Channel to at least 37, making it the deadliest year since authorities began tracking the phenomenon, according to Le Parisien data. The previous record was set in 2021, when 30 migrants drowned while attempting to reach the UK in makeshift boats.
According to British authorities, illegal crossings of the Channel reached a record high in the first half of 2024, with 21,615 migrants arriving by this means since January. Overall, nearly 136,000 asylum seekers have illegally crossed the Channel from France since the UK started tracking these arrivals in 2018.
Reacting to the latest incident, British Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said it shows “the urgent need for a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to reduce dangerous Channel crossings.”