Eight people die trying to cross Channel overnight
Eight people have died while trying to cross the English Channel, French authorities have confirmed.
The French maritime prefecture for the English Channel and the North Sea said some 53 migrants were on board the boat which got into difficulty off the coast of France overnight.
Jacques Billant, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, told French media on Sunday that six people were taken to hospital “in relative emergency,” including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia.
He added that the eight who died were all adult men.
Survivors of the accident come from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran, he added.
The incident happened off the coast of Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France overnight.
An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office.
A UK Government spokesperson said French authorities are leading the investigation.
“We can confirm there has been an incident in the Channel involving a small boat in French waters,” the spokesperson said.
“French authorities are leading the response and investigation. We will not be commenting further at this stage.”
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British Red Cross said the deaths were “tragic”, as the charity organisation called for more safe crossing routes for migrants.
“Nobody risks their life travelling across the Channel in a small boat unless they feel they have no other choice,” the director for refugee support, Alex Fraser, said.
It comes less than two weeks after 12 migrants died when their boat sank trying to cross the Channel.
A pregnant woman and six children were among those killed in the incident on September 3, with up to 65 people rescued off the coast of Cap Gris-Nez.
More than 30 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year.
Some 22,440 people have crossed the Channel so far this year, with nearly 9,000 having made the crossing since the general election.
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