The French emergency services received a Mayday call from a dinghy after it got into difficulty in the English Channel at Ambleteuse, near Calais early on Sunday morning
At least eight UK-bound migrants drowned today in the latest small boat disaster in the English Channel.
The French emergency services received a Mayday from a dinghy that got into difficulty off the coast at Ambleteuse, near Calais, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Several migrants lost their lives,’ said Jacques Billant, the Pas de Calais prefect, putting the provisional death toll at eight. A zodiac craft carrying around 50 people ran aground,” Mr Billant said, adding that the eight unidentified migrants were declared dead at the scene.
The tragedy comes less than two weeks after the deaths of at least 12 people, including a pregnant woman and six children, when their flimsy dinghy broke up in the sea nearby.
The latest deaths mean at least 45 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year, compared with 12 for the whole of 2023. The worst previous incident was in November 2021 when 27 people died after their inflatable dinghy capsized.
Earlier this month, at least 12 people died after another boat carrying migrants capsized in the English Channel. Tragedy struck when the boat, which was attempting to cross the Channel after leaving France, got into trouble 28 miles from Calais. It’s understood the boat was carrying 100 people at the time when it got into trouble. Of the passengers, 12 have died, 10 of whom were women and girls, six of whom were children, and one of whom was a pregnant woman.
Some 50 people needed medical treatment after being pulled from the sea, the French coastguard said. A French emergency services spokesman said: “The sinking of a boat overcrowded with around 70 migrants on board took place early on Tuesday,’ said the spokesman.
“A Navy helicopter is bringing in victims who are in a critical condition. Some appear to have been suffocated. Around 10 people have been reported dead.” Victims were also being taken back to Bassin Loubet in Boulogne-sur-Mer on board a semi-rigid boat, said the spokesman at the time.
