Shipwreck in the English Channel: 43 people rescued, 4 dead

At least four people were killed and 43 were rescued in an operation after a ship carrying illegal immigrants sank in the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom on Wednesday (14).

Alerted overnight about an “incident on a small ship off the coast of Kent” in south-east England, the British Coast Guard launched a “search and rescue operation”.

France and the United Kingdom have been experiencing intense cold for several days, with temperatures dropping to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit, raising fears of many deaths in the icy waters that separate the two countries.

Two British and one French helicopters were mobilized, as well as ships and emergency teams from various cities in the region. Authorities in northern France also reported that a naval patrol was dispatched as reinforcements.

According to the news of the British press, which is based on government sources, the operation managed to save 43 people after about six hours without disclosing the age and origin of the immigrants.

“Four people have been confirmed dead in the incident,” a government source said. Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed “sadness” over the sinking and “tragic loss of life”.

immigrant boats

The term “small boat” is used in the UK to refer to boats carrying immigrants trying to cross the English Channel from France to the UK coast.

In the footage shown by British television channels, it is seen that immigrants were rescued at midnight on an inflatable boat, which is not capable of carrying dozens of people.

Since the beginning of the year, about 45,000 migrants have tried to cross the dangerous border, up from 30,000 last year.

A shipwreck in November last year killed large numbers of migrants in the English Channel. In the early hours of 24 November 2021, 27 migrants aged between 7 and 46 – 16 Kurds from Iraq, one Kurdish from Iran, four Afghans, three Ethiopians, one Somali, one Egyptian and one Vietnamese – died at sunset. An inflatable off the French coast trying to reach England.

Only two passengers, an Iraqi Kurd and a Sudanese, were rescued alive. Le Monde He said that the immigrants called the French authorities 15 times to ask for help, but to no avail.

According to the UN Missing Migrants Project, at least 205 migrants have died or disappeared while crossing the English Channel since 2014.

Tension between London and Paris

The crossing of undocumented migrants from France to the UK via the English Channel is a source of tension between the governments of Paris and London.

The issue is especially sensitive for British Conservatives, who promised to strengthen control of their borders after Brexit, which took effect in early 2021, but failed to do so, and have observed the rise in the number of undocumented immigrants.

To curb this trend, the two countries signed an agreement in November to increase the number of police on the beaches from 800 to 900, which includes a €72.2m package that the British will pay France in 2022-2023. French ports of departure.

Agreement with Albania

Wednesday’s shipwreck comes a day after Rishi Sunak announced a new deal with Albania to stop the flow of migrants crossing the English Channel from mainland Europe.

According to the UK government, a third of those who arrived in British territorial waters this year – about 13,000 people – were Albanian.

Sunak said that with the agreement, Albanians who came by boats from the English Channel, one of the sea routes most frequently used by large cargo ships, would be returned to their countries immediately.

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