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31 migrants feared dead after boat capsizes at English channel

A joint French-British search operation for survivors was called off late Wednesday

engchanf A RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat carrying migrants approaches a beach in Dungeness on the south-east coast of England after they are picked up crossing the English Channel | AFP

At least 31 migrants bound for Britain died Wednesday when their boat sank in the English Channel, in what France’s interior minister called the biggest migration tragedy on the dangerous crossing to date.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 34 people were believed to have been on the boat. Authorities found 31 bodies — including those of five women and a young girl — and two survivors, he said. One person appeared to still be missing. The nationalities of the travellers was not immediately known.

The regional maritime authority, which oversees rescue operations, later said 27 bodies were found, two people survived and four others were missing and presumed drowned. The discrepancy in the numbers was not immediately explained.

Ever-increasing numbers of people fleeing conflict or poverty in Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Eritrea or elsewhere are risking the perilous journey in small, unseaworthy craft from France, hoping to win asylum or find better opportunities in Britain. The crossings have tripled this year compared to 2020, and another 106 migrants were rescued in French waters on Wednesday alone.

A joint French-British search operation for survivors of the sinking was called off late Wednesday. Both countries cooperate to stem migration across the Channel but also accuse each other of not doing enough — and the issue is often used by politicians on both sides pushing an anti-migration agenda.

Four suspected traffickers were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of being linked to the sunken boat, Darmanin told reporters in the French port city of Calais. He said two of the suspects later appeared in court.

The regional prosecutor opened an investigation into aggravated manslaughter, organised illegal migration and other charges after the sinking. Lille Prosecutor Carole Etienne told The Associated Press that officials were still working to identify the victims and determine their ages and nationalities, and that the investigation may involve multiple countries.

“It’s a day of great mourning for France, for Europe, for humanity to see these people die at sea,” Darmanin said. He lashed out at “criminal traffickers” driving thousands to risk the crossing.

Activists demonstrated outside the port of Calais on Wednesday night, accusing governments of not doing enough to respond to migrants’ needs. Hundreds of people live in precarious conditions along the French coast, despite regular police patrols and evacuation operations.

The bodies were brought to the Calais port, Jean-Marc Puissesseau, head of the ports of Calais and Boulogne, told The AP. “We were waiting for something like this to happen,” he said, given the growing numbers of people risking the passage.

Aid groups blamed European governments for increasingly hard-line migration policies. “The UK is not a choice, it is an escape, an escape for people fleeing the lack of welcome in Europe,” said Nikolai Posner of French charity Utopia 56.

Darmanin called for coordination with the UK, saying “the response must also come from Great Britain.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke after Wednesday’s tragedy and agreed “that it is vital to keep all options on the table to stop these lethal crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs behind them,” Johnson’s office said.

Downing Street said the two leaders “underlined the importance of close working with neighbours in Belgium and the Netherlands as well as partners across the continent if we are to tackle the problem effectively before people reach the French coast.”

Macron stressed “the shared responsibility” of France and the UK and told Johnson he expects full cooperation from the British and that they do not use the tragic situation “for political purposes,” the Elysee said.

France’s government is holding an emergency meeting Thursday morning to discuss next steps. Macron advocated an immediate funding boost for the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, and an emergency meeting of European government ministers, according to his office. “France will not allow the Channel to become a cemetery,” Macron said.

Johnson convened a meeting of the government’s crisis committee, and said he was “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened.”

He urged France to step up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, and said Wednesday’s incident highlighted how efforts by French authorities to patrol their beaches “haven’t been enough.”

“We’ve had difficulties persuading some of our partners, particularly the French, to do things in a way that we think the situation deserves,” he told reporters.

Darmanin insisted that France has worked hard to prevent crossings, rescuing 7,800 people since January and stopping 671 who were trying to cross on Wednesday alone.

A French naval boat spotted several bodies in the water around 2 pm and rescue boats retrieved several dead and injured from the surrounding waters, a maritime authority spokesperson said. French patrol boats, a French helicopter and a British helicopter searched the area.

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