by Mick the Ram

Twelve people have died in the treacherous English Channel after their boat sank off the French coast.

The vessel was overloaded with nearly 70 migrants attempting to reach the shores of the UK and amongst those who tragically lost their lives were six children and a pregnant woman.

French officials reported that the Navy, helicopters, and normal fishing boats were quickly alerted and had been able to rescue more than 50 from the water, just off Cape Gris-Nez, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, although at least two are described as being in a critical condition.

It has been suggested that as few as eight of those travelling were wearing life jackets when the bottom of the boat “ripped open” and were believed to have been “primarily of Eritrean origin” although that could not yet be confirmed.

The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and currents are extremely strong, making the crossing on small boats highly dangerous, even more so when they are vastly overloaded.

The number of people making the precarious trip continues to rise with more than 135,000 people completing the route to the southern English coast since 2018.

This latest tragedy is the deadliest death toll in the perilous stretch of water this year.

Overcrowding and poor quality boats make for deadly combination

The boat was only 23 feet (7m) in length and had more than twice the recommended number of people onboard when it ran into difficulties shortly after departing the French coast.

Border security and asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “It is a worrying trend that boats are being filled with many more people than we have seen in past times.”

She added that the quality of the vessels is deteriorating, meaning that the crossings were as a consequence, getting more and more dangerous in what is a very busy shipping lane.

It is thought that in this instance, Syrian smugglers are responsible.

Deaths fail to deter more migrants

Despite the tragic event, it failed to stop even more migrants taking their chance just 24 hours later.

A Calais charity reported that they were aware of more than 200 of them attempting to embark on a potentially fatal journey from a French beach in the early hours, but thankfully they were halted by the police.

So far this year, thirty people are known to have drowned in the Channel trying to get across, which is the highest figure for any year since 2021, when 45 deaths were recorded, with four months still remaining.

Charity spells out the desperation

Nadine Tunasi, of the charity Freedom From Torture, said: “I know from the survivors I work with that no one gets into an overcrowded and unseaworthy dingy to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes without a desperate need to find safety.

“Too much time has been wasted on gimmicks and hateful politics, while conflict continues to push people to take dangerous routes to sanctuary.”  

Call for legislation between countries

French interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, explained how he had visited Boulogne-sur-Mer to meet and thank the emergency services, the police and the sailors who were able to save 51 people with their “courageous intervention”.

He remarked: “We absolutely must – and this is a very important point – re-establish special relations with our British friends,” calling for harmonised immigration legislation between Britain and France.

PM in pledge with French President

The new Labour government, as well as the ousted Conservatives, have both vowed to tackle the major problem.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer cancelled the Tories plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, but has vowed to take tougher measures against the smuggling gangs, and only last week he pledged to work closer with French President Emmanuel Macron to dismantle the routes.