At least twelve people have died after a boat capsized as it attempted to cross the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom, according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
Two other people are missing and several others have been injured, the minister said in a message on He is already heading towards the region.
The shipwreck occurred in the Boulonnais region of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Media in the region report that there were also several serious injuries.
The Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea detailed in a press release that ten naval and air resources were dispatched after receiving an alert indicating that there was a migrant boat in difficulty. “More than 50 people were rescued. “Several of them required emergency medical assistance” and search and rescue operations “are still ongoing”, adds the note, which also assures that an emergency medical post has been set up in Boulogne sur Mer to take care of the victims.
The shipwreck is the deadliest so far this year among migrants trying to reach British shores from France by sea. The Channel is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, with some 600 commercial vessels passing through each day, and is an area where weather conditions are often difficult, with strong winds making it particularly dangerous even when the waters are apparently calm.
Last year, a total of 29,437 people reached British soil after crossing the Channel irregularly, 36% fewer than the record 45,774 in 2022, according to official UK figures.
The UN refugee agency is calling for safe ways for refugees to seek asylum in Europe without having to risk their lives on dangerous routes.
