The Pas-de-Calais Prefect has confirmed that four individuals, a toddler and three adults, passed away in two unfortunate incidents off the French coast. Jacques Billant informed that a vessel carrying almost 90 passengers experienced engine failure on Saturday and was attended by the French coastguard. All 15 individuals onboard were successfully recovered to a knockabout named l’Abeille, including a two-year-old boy who was found unconscious. Despite emergency medical attention being flown in, the boy sadly did not survive. French interior minister Bruno Retailleau indicated on the platform X that the boy suffered fatal injuries due to stampede.
Mr. Billant provided care for the remaining 14 refugees, including a 17-year-old with leg injuries, at the Boulogne port before they were questioned by law enforcement. The rest of the passengers were permitted to proceed to the UK, as stated by Mr. Billant.
A separate incident involved a boat from Calais populated by 83 individuals, which fell prey to multiple engine failures causing anxiety and panic among the passengers, resulting in a few falling into the sea. Thankfully, all were rescued.
However, during the transfer of 71 refugees from the inflatable boat to Flamant, a French naval patrol boat, three unconscious individuals were discovered at the underpart of the boat. According to Mr. Billant, they were likely suffocated and tragically drowned due to the crowd in a 40-cm waterlogged vessel. Despite medical intervention, all three adults, two males and one female around the age of 30, were pronounced dead. The remaining 12 passengers tried to continue their journey across the channel but were eventually rescued yet again and led back to France.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Billant disclosed the distressing news of two recent maritime disasters resulting in four fatalities: two men, a female, and a young child. He elaborated that these accidents follow deadly episodes that transpired on the 3rd and 15th of September, bringing the year’s death toll to 51.
Mr. Billant drew attention to the ruthless actions of traffickers who separate children from their kin before sending them on overcrowded vessels. He refrained from revealing whether the deceased boy was a victim of such separation. Firmly condemning the criminal networks, Mr. Billant highlighted their exploitation of humanity for monetary gains. These smugglers, he said, have little regard for life, putting not only adults in danger but also families, including infants, by selling them treacherous sea passageways in completely unseaworthy boats.
These dangerous expeditions invariably end in mishaps and fatalities, as demonstrated by the events occurring on 3rd and 15th September, and again more recently. The rescued migrants hailed from numerous countries including Eritrea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Kuwait, and Iraq.
Mr. Retailleau, airing his views on Platform X brought up the horrific ordeal where several individuals, including a child, lost their lives in their desperate attempts to cross the Channel. He highlighted the culpability of people smugglers and pledged an intensification of efforts by the government to combat the organized crime rings profiting from promoting lethal crossings.
As a stern criticism to the humane crisis, British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on platform X her direct engagements with the French Interior Minister. She expressed her dismay that the channel has claimed more victims, including a young child, due to the ruthlessness of drug smuggler gangs and their deadly boat crossing ventures.
Dr. Wanda Wyporska, the CEO of Safe Passage International, condemned the fatal incidents, lamenting the tragic death of a young child who, along with several others, failed to survive the perilous crossing. She censured the lack of secure routes for refugees in the UK, holding it responsible for the high death toll due to traffickers exploiting this fact. She claimed that the inability of refugees to apply for UK asylum outside the country limits has led to these devastating consequences.
The British Home Office recently disclosed that 395 migrants crossed the English Channel into the UK, being the first set of arrivals in five days. With these recent entrants, who arrived on seven vessels, the total number of migrants for the year stands at 25,639. This figure is marginally higher than the 25,330 recorded by the same time last year, but less than the 33,611 seen in 2022.
This situation emphasizes urgent necessity for the government to facilitate secure routes for refugees, to prevent the occurrence of further deadly attempts by individuals in despair, looking for a safer environment to begin anew with their families.
Following deliberations in Italy, the UK, along with other premier Group of Seven (G7) nations, concur on an action plan against smuggling. The strategy involves augmenting collaboration on the subject matter including collective investigation and sharing of intelligence aimed at disrupting illegal smuggling operations.
Additionally, the plan outlines a ‘cooperative’ approach with social media firms, to inhibit the use of their platforms as tools for facilitating migrant smuggling and human trafficking. The Home Office maintains that monitoring the web and various platforms could deter this type of illicit activity.