Several persons perished overnight while attempting to cross the English Channel in a small boat, French authorities have revealed. At least eight individuals have lost their lives after a rubber vessel with 50 people on board started to sink off the French coast, the BBC reported.
Pas de Calais prefect Jacques Billant said “Several migrants lost their lives”. This comes only days after at least 12 people, including six children and a pregnant lady, died off the northern French coast when their boat capsized on September 3.
It was recorded as the deadliest such incident this year. A total of 25 individuals had already perished on crossings, up from 12 in 2023. The new event takes the death toll for this year to at least 45.
More than 200 individuals were rescued between Friday (September 13) and Saturday, the French marine authorities said in a statement posted on its website. They also said they tracked a total of 18 attempts to cross the Channel in the same 24-hour period.
Following the latest incident, Jacques Billant, prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region, said: “Several migrants lost their lives again in the town of Ambleteuse while trying to reach Great Britain as part of a sea crossing of the Channel.”
More than 21,000 have crossed the Channel this year so far, according to official figures from the Home Office.
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