Some deaths are reported. Those that occurred during the night of Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 September off the coast of Ambleteuse, a small seaside resort in the Pas-de-Calais, were certainly fatal. Eight men died while trying to reach the United Kingdom on board an inflatable boat.
This tragedy comes after twelve people drowned and two others went missing on 3 September after their boat was damaged off the coast of Wimereux, a town close to Ambleteuse.
These two shipwrecks are the most serious to have occurred in the English Channel since the beginning of the year. They bring to 46 the number of migrants who have lost their lives in 2024 trying to reach England on board inflatable boats, according to an estimate by the Home Office. While more than 23,000 people have successfully completed the crossing, a level that is close to the records of 2022, the mortality rate on the road is unprecedented.
The “small ships” are becoming more overloaded every year
On September 14, after several days of bad weather, the weather again became favourable for the crossing. Groups of people were preparing to try their luck, heading towards the coast, hiding in the woods waiting for a sign from their smuggler. That day, the British authorities counted the arrival of 801 people aboard fourteen small boats. That is almost 60 passengers on each boat, although they are generally less than ten metres long and of poor quality. Since the appearance of the “small boat” phenomenon in 2018, the boats are becoming more and more overloaded every year.
“The work done [par les autorités des pays européens] to stop the supply [des réseaux de passeurs] in canoes means we are seeing more overcrowded canoes than before”He told the Emirati newspaper on July 29 The National a former head of the British Border Force, Tony Smith.
According to the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, Jacques Billant, at a press conference on Sunday, the boat that sank during the night had more than fifty people on board. “originating from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran”. A minority of them were equipped with a life jacket. Although the boat had been launched in Ambleteuse shortly before midnight, “He quickly found himself in trouble, declared Jacques Billant. The boat was obviously smashed against the rocks.”in the vicinity of the beach.
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