Two women, both of Somali nationality, died Saturday while attempting a perilous crossing of the Channel to reach Britain, according to French authorities, who also confirmed that the body of another migrant was recovered from a canal.
The incident involving the deaths of the two women occurred at approximately a.m. ( GMT) south of the beaches of Neufchatel-Hardelot, when about people boarded a makeshift boat in a bid to reach the UK. Some other migrants were successfully rescued.
The local prefecture stated that the overloaded vessel was forced to return to shore an hour later after its motor failed to start.
Isabelle Fradin-Thirode, an official in nearby Montreuil-sur-Mer, reported that civil protection teams took people into care, while many others who had been on the boat fled the scene when rescuers arrived. A couple and their child suffering from moderate hypothermia were rushed to a hospital in Boulogne, she confirmed.
The body of a man, estimated to be in his late s or early s, was recovered from a canal in the town of Gravelines, adjacent to Dunkirk, the prefecture and AFP journalists at the scene reported.
Impact of the Crossings
These latest fatalities raise the total number of Channel crossing deaths to at least this year, based on an AFP count compiled from official data. Since January, a record migrants have successfully arrived in Britain after traversing the Channel in small boats.
Under a recent Franco-British agreement, the UK retains the authority to return migrants upon arrival if they are deemed ineligible for asylum, specifically including those who have passed through a “safe country” to reach British shores. In reciprocity, London is obligated to accept an equal number of migrants from France whose asylum claims are likely to be approved.
However, this bilateral agreement appears to have done little to discourage migrants from attempting the perilous journey.
On Friday, an AFP team in the Gravelines area witnessed hundreds of migrants actively preparing to cross the Channel from various points along the beach, waiting for favorable weather conditions. Earlier this week, AFP reporters interviewed several migrants at a makeshift camp in Loon-Plage near Dunkirk. Some migrants shared that they had already endured extreme hardship and danger to get so close to their final destination. One person stated that when taking a small boat across the channel, “you aren’t sure you’ll survive. But that’s OK, we still have to try our luck.”
