- 8 migrants die crossing Channel, 45 rescued
- French authorities rescue over 200 migrants
- Amnesty criticizes lack of safe asylum routes
It comes after French authorities rescued over 200 individuals off the coast of Calais in 24 hours between Friday and Saturday night.
At least eight migrants perished off the coast of France while attempting to cross the English Channel.
French officials reported that the deaths occurred overnight off Ambleteuse in northern France’s Pas-de-Calais area.
About 45 survivors of the incident were rescued.
It comes after French authorities rescued over 200 individuals off the coast of Calais in 24 hours between Friday and Saturday night.
A boat carrying migrants in bad condition was discovered off the shore of Le Portel, a French seaside hamlet, and 55 people were saved.
Elsewhere, 61 migrants were picked up off the coast of La Becque d’Hardelot, 48 were found near a lighthouse, and 36 more were saved at the end of the day, according to French police.
All of those rescued were returned to land.
On Saturday, French authorities claimed they had tracked 18 attempts to launch boats over the Channel.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy responded to the disaster: “It’s dreadful. It’s an additional loss of life.”
He had visited the National Crime Agency and seen the terrible rubber dinghies that people are bringing across the Channel, many of whom, of course, cannot make it.
He noted that the administration has been “discussing how we go after those gangs, in cooperation upstream with other European partners.”
Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, Steve Valdez-Symonds, said: “This is yet another appalling and avoidable tragedy, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have died.
These treacherous crossings appear to be becoming increasingly dangerous, implying that smugglers are risking people’s lives to avoid detection by UK and French authorities.
He noted that the government’s gangs’ mantra, as well as its security-heavy policy, are adding to the death toll since the failure to build secure asylum pathways means that these frail vessels run by people smugglers are the only genuine alternative for desperate people fleeing persecution.
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Mr Valdez-Symonds went on to say that unless UK officials and their French colleagues begin to share responsibility for the need for secure routes, tragedies like this weekend’s will continue to occur.
It comes less than two weeks after at least 12 people were killed, including ten women and girls, when a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the English Channel.
The French coastguard reported that more than 65 persons were rescued after the vessel encountered difficulties off the coast of Cap Gris-Nez.
According to France’s interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, only eight of the 70 individuals on board were wearing life jackets.
It was the bloodiest occurrence this year, with 25 individuals killed attempting to cross the Channel.
So far this year, more than 30 individuals have died while crossing the Channel.
According to government estimates, more than 21,000 people crossed the English Channel in tiny boats between January and September of this year.
