At least 12 dead and two missing after migrant boat capsizes in the English Channel

At least 12 people have died and two are missing after a small boat capsized in the English Channel, French authorities confirmed.

A major rescue operation is underway after the dinghy sank off Cap Gris-Nez in northern France on Tuesday morning.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin spoke of twelve fatalities. The French Coast Guard confirmed this number.

All of the boat's passengers fell into the water and 53 were rescued during a search operation, the Coast Guard added. Several of them required emergency medical attention.

In a post on X, Mr Darmanin said: “Terrible shipwreck in the Pas-de-Calais, off Wimereux.

“The preliminary figures are 12 dead, two missing and several injured. All state agencies have been mobilized to find the missing and care for the victims.”

The identity of the fatalities has not yet been confirmed.

The television news channel France 3 quoted the mayor of Le Portel, Olivier Barbarin, as saying that ten people had suffered “cardiac arrest” and 100 were on board.

Mr Barbarin said the bottom of the boat was “torn open”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the incident as “appalling and deeply tragic” and stressed the importance of breaking up “dangerous and criminal smuggling gangs” and “strengthening border security”.

“What happened off the coast of Le Portel is a terrible and deeply tragic incident and our sincere condolences go out to the families of all those who lost their lives and all those who were seriously injured,” she said.

“I am in contact with my counterpart in France, Gérald Darmanin, and am kept informed of the situation.

“We pay tribute to the French coast guard and rescue teams who undoubtedly saved many lives but unfortunately were not able to save all of them. We will await the results of the French investigation into the circumstances of this particular incident.

“The gangs behind this horrific and ruthless human trafficking are cramming more and more people onto increasingly unseaworthy dinghies and sending them out into the canal even in bad weather.

“They only care about the profits they make. That is why – in addition to mourning the terrible loss of life – we must make it so important and rapid to work on dismantling these dangerous and criminal smuggling gangs and strengthening border security.”

The coast guard said the operation was currently underway and numerous helicopters and boats, including those of the French Navy, were assisting in the rescue efforts.

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She issued a warning to anyone planning to cross the canal in a small boat: “This sea area is one of the busiest in the world. More than 600 commercial ships pass through it every day.”

The British Coast Guard said it was not involved in the major rescue operation.

According to the British government, more than 2,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats in the last seven days.

As of Thursday, August 29 – the most recent data available – 20,644 people had already entered the country this year.

This figure is slightly higher than at the same time last year, when 20,101 arrivals were registered.

However, this is lower than the same year, 2022, which became a record year for Channel crossings, when 25,065 people arrived.

French authorities and aid organizations warn that smuggling gangs are increasingly herding migrants onto small boats crossing the Channel to evade police patrols and increase their profits.

More and more people are dying in the crush on board the overcrowded ships instead of drowning during the dangerous crossing, the coast guard said. I.

Currently, the boats carry an average of almost 50 people, and regularly even more than 70 to 80.

The smugglers use boats made of plywood barely a millimeter thick, with bouncy castle-like tubes and tiny engines that threaten to collapse in the middle of the sea, putting dozens of people at risk with each boat.

Relief workers in Calais and the Mediterranean reported I that the unstable boats can collapse due to overcrowding and sometimes collapse when the bottom of the boat gives way and the passengers become trapped inside.

More than 90 percent of people arriving on small boats apply for asylum in the UK. That is, they apply for permission to stay in the UK because they are allegedly facing persecution in their home country.

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However, according to the Home Office, arrivals by small boat accounted for just over a third of the total number of asylum seekers in the UK in the year to March 2024.

Since 2018, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of asylum applications have been approved, meaning they were found to be valid following an investigation by the Home Office. However, some applications were later withdrawn, bringing the overall asylum application rate down to 56 percent.

However, last year the government passed an anti-illegal migration law which stipulates that anyone entering the UK in a small boat after 20 July 2023 will not be eligible for asylum.

According to the Home Office, no one who arrived by small boat on or after that date was granted asylum.

The UK-based Refugee Council said the number of deaths in the English Channel this year had been “shockingly high”.

“This is a devastating development that highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to reduce the number of dangerous Channel crossings,” said CEO Enver Solomon.

“Enforcement alone is not the solution. Increased security and policing measures along the French coast have led to increasingly dangerous crossings, departing from more dangerous locations and in flimsy, overcrowded boats. In addition to taking action against the criminal gangs themselves, the government must develop a plan to improve and expand safe routes for those seeking safety.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.