Fifth migrant confirmed dead while trying to cross English Channel
French authorities have now confirmed a fifth person also died, with 72 people, including 10 children, being rescued, ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia reports
The Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron says the deaths of five migrants in the English Channel is 'heartbreaking.'
A boat got into trouble launching from a French beach, according to local media reports.
The incident happened near Wimereux, south of Calais, at around 2am on Sunday morning.
French paper La Voix du Nord said 72 people, including 10 children, were rescued and taken to Calais while one person was taken to hospital in Boulogne.
The paper said the migrants got into difficulty while trying to board the boat in darkness and cold temperatures.
A Navy helicopter, police and 50 firefighters were involved in the rescue operation.
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
The UK Coastguard could not comment because the incident took place in French territorial waters.
Last weekend the first crossings in 26 days were reported, with poor weather conditions contributing to the lack of activity at sea.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Lord Cameron said: “It’s heartbreaking when these things happen, and the loss of life that takes place.
“And you can only think about what an appalling end it would be, and the cold waters of the Channel in the middle of the night. It breaks my heart to hear about it.
“But it just shows we’ve got to stop the boats, we’ve got to stop this illegal trade in human beings.”
The former prime minister argued that the solution is forcibly removing unauthorised arrivals to Rwanda, with Rishi Sunak’s Bill to get the stalled policy up and running returning to the Commons for crunch votes this week.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the incident as a “tragic loss of life” but disputed the solution.
“I don’t know the details, in a sense we don’t need to know the details. To lose your life in a small dinghy or boat in the winter sea in the Channel is just awful,” he told the BBC.
But on the Rwanda plan advocated by Lord Cameron, he said: “I think he is wrong about that.
“I absolutely agree that we need to stop these Channel crossings.
“They are dangerous, we have lost control of our borders, and we need to do something to stop the boats.
The Refugee Council called for “decisive action” to stop Channel crossings following the “terrible loss of life”.