One person dead and another critical in fatal Channel crossing, French Coastguard says
Political Correspondent Libby Wiener explains all we know so far about the Channel crossing death and how the UK government is dealing with immigration
One person has died and another is in a critical condition after a boat carrying migrants got into difficulty while crossing the Channel, the French coastguard has said.
At least 66 people were on board the boat, which was spotted five miles off the northern coast of France at around 12.30am local time on Friday, according to Premar Manche, a French agency which monitors the Channel.
Rescue ships reached the boat around 30 minutes later and one person on board was pronounced dead.
Another was taken to Calais hospital by helicopter in a critical condition, the agency said.
It added that sea and air searches of the area continued.
It is said that one of the boat's tubes was deflated, when the boat was found off the coast of Grand-Fort-Philippe.
The UK Coastguard said it had sent a helicopter to assist the operation.
Government minister Andrew Griffith said another death in the Channel shows why the crossing was “not a safe route”, and why Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “cracking down on the terrible trade of people traffickers”.
He told Sky News: “It is why it is really important that the Government is taking action through things like the Illegal Migration Bill (sic), through the proposals around Rwanda that we debated in Parliament earlier this year, to absolutely remove the incentive, break the economic model of people smugglers, so that we can stop this terrible trade.”
The Government wants to deter Channel crossings by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed.
Mr Sunak hopes to make it harder for anyone to legally challenge the scheme by pushing through a new law.
His Safety of Rwanda bill. which has divided his Conservative party, passed a vote in Parliament on Tuesday night, and will go through more stages before it becomes law.
The death is the latest in a series of tragic crossing attempts.
French authorities confirmed two people had died in a similar incident off the coast of France last month.
Two others died after trying to cross the Channel in separate incidents in August and November 2021, while an independent inquiry was launched last month after 27 people died when after an inflatable boat capsized, also in November 2021.
More than 29,000 migrants have arrived in the UK this year after crossing the Channel. This is the second highest annual total to date since records began in 2018.
Enver Solomon, chief executive officer of the Refugee Council, said: “This is yet another terrible and avoidable tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victim, the survivors and their loved ones.
“These appalling deaths are becoming too common and there is an urgent need to put in place safe routes so people don’t have to take dangerous journeys across the world’s busiest shipping lane.
“Instead, the Government is pushing ahead with its unworkable and unprincipled Rwanda plan as well as shutting down existing safe ways to get to the UK.
“People flee persecution and violence out of desperation, to find safety and protect their families. The Government must take action now and respond in a compassionate way to prevent future tragedies and protect human life.”
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