A baby died on Thursday night off the coast of Wissant (Pas-de-Calais) when the ship loaded with migrants heading towards England capsized, the maritime prefecture of La Manche and the North Sea announced to the Agency. France-Presse (AFP). , Friday, October 18. During a recovery operation for migrants who fell into the water, “Sixty-five people were recovered safe and sound” but, “After a search, a baby was found unconscious in the water and sadly declared deceased.”specifies the maritime prefecture.
Alerted to a clandestine exit, the Gris-Nez regional surveillance and rescue operational center (Cross) deployed several rescue boats and a Belgian helicopter on Thursday afternoon, the prefecture explained on Friday. “Once in the area, the resources confirmed that the boat, heavily loaded, was in difficulty and that some people were in the water”the maritime prefecture specified in a press release.
This death brings to at least fifty-two the number of people killed in crossing attempts in 2024, a record since the beginning, in 2018, of the phenomenon of small boatsthese improvised boats that immigrants use to try to reach England. Children are usually among the victims. On September 3, half of the twelve victims of the worst shipwreck of the year were minors. On October 5, a 2-year-old boy was crushed to death on a boat carrying nearly ninety people and its engine failed.
One hundred thirty-two people rescued in one night
The conditions for crossing the English Channel, “one of the busiest areas in the world”According to the maritime prefecture, they are especially dangerous on overloaded ships, on board of which few passengers wear life jackets. Although a high tide phenomenon began on Wednesday that is expected to end on Sunday, making navigation especially difficult, attempts to cross continue and several canoes have needed assistance in recent days. During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, 132 people, who were on board two ships, were rescued by French ships.
The use of these small boats It emerged in response to the increasingly tight blockade of access to the Channel Tunnel and the port of Calais. Attempts to board trucks to clandestinely use the tunnel or a ferry continue, but they cross small boats They constitute the main means used by immigrants, “almost (…) at 90%”, according to the prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Guirec Le Bras.
Ships reaching British shores since the 1st centuryAhem Those in January have an average of fifty-three passengers each, compared to only thirteen in 2020, according to official figures from the British authorities. According to these data, since the beginning of the year, more than 26,000 immigrants have arrived in England after crossing the English Channel. Elected in July, the British Labor government of Keir Starmer promised to fight illegal immigration by increasing the number of immigrant expulsions and fighting smugglers.
This new death occurs when the French Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, will present on Friday his plans on immigration on the Franco-Italian border, before two ministers of Giorgia Meloni’s government, whose initiatives in this area are closely followed by several countries. Europeans. On Thursday, the Twenty-seven gathered at a summit in Brussels raised their voices against irregular immigration, demanding “urgently” a law to accelerate expulsions, after debates that also highlighted strong disagreements within the Union.
