At least 12 people have died and two are missing after a boat carrying migrants was ‘ripped apart’ while crossing the English Channel to Britain.
The seven-metre boat carrying 65 people sank near Cap Gris-Nez, a cape off the coast of Pas-de-Calais, France, late this morning.
This sent dozens of people into the choppy waters of the English Channel, with a nearby French-flagged vessel sailing towards the broken boat to their aid.
A rescue operation has been launched that includes three helicopters.
Prefecture officials said of the more than 50 people rescued, ‘several require emergency medical care’. Two are in critical condition.
The death toll, however, may be as high as 13, a maritime insider told AFP. This includes three minors.
France’s outgoing interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said on X: ‘Terrible shipwreck in Pas-de-Calais, off Wimereux. The provisional toll stands at 12 dead, two missing and several injured.
‘All state services are mobilised to find the missing and take care of the victims. I go to the elected officials and the emergency services.’
Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Le Portel near the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, said: ‘Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open.’
He added: ‘It’s a big drama.’
According to VesselFinder, the French vessel the Minck, which came to the aid of the boat, remains at the scene. Darmanin thanked the crew and emergency officials for their rescue efforts.
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly said on X: ‘This is tragic & it cannot continue. It is not enough to talk about ‘smashing the gangs’ when the real-life consequences are so serious.
‘Labour must re-establish the deterrent that the NCA said we need to stop vulnerable people being exploited and secure our border.’
The incident touched off anger and frustration among human rights groups on both sides of the English Channel.
Utopia 56, a French migrant aid association, said on X: ‘The Ministry of the Interior and Gérald Darmanin must be held responsible for their arrogance, incompetence and violence.’
More than 2,100 asylum seekers crossed the Channel between August 27 and yesterday, according to official figures. Around 12,600 people have made the trip so far this year.
But campaigners say that crossing the Channel, often through the hands of smugglers, is one of the few options for asylum seekers, most fleeing war-torn or oppressive countries.
‘Nobody risks their life travelling across the Channel in a small boat unless they feel they have no other choice,’ Alex Fraser, British Red Cross UK Director for Refugee Support, said.
‘More safe routes are urgently needed to help prevent people from taking dangerous journeys to reach the UK.
At least 30 people have died or gone missing while trying to cross to the UK this year to seek asylum, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Dr Wanda Wyporska, chief executive at Safe Passage International, told Metro.co.uk that today’s ‘tragedy’ captures the need for Britain to revise its immigration policies, too.
‘Far too many children, women and men have already lost their lives this year in terrifying ways across the Channel. Every one of them was preventable,’ she said.
‘Today’s tragedy must be the last.
‘Without safe alternatives to reach protection in the UK, people fleeing war and persecution will continue to make dangerous journeys at the hands of smugglers as they have no other choice. We must not accept this Government’s refusal to prioritise opening new safe routes.’
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