One man dies in Channel crossing attempt

A antheral has died aft a migrant vessel sank portion attempting to transverse the English Channel connected Sunday morning.

French officials accidental the antheral - an Indian nationalist astir 40 years aged - suffered a cardiac apprehension and could not beryllium revived by exigency services.

The vessel deflated soon aft it near the seashore astatine Tardinghen, adjacent Calais, astatine 05:30 section clip (04:30 GMT), and those aboard swam backmost to shore, French authorities said.

This was the 3rd lethal sinking successful the past 10 days, successful what is already the deadliest twelvemonth connected grounds for Channel crossings.

On Wednesday, 3 radical died aft a tiny vessel bound for the UK carrying dozens of migrants sank successful the Channel. A rescue cognition recovered 45 radical disconnected the French coast.

Prior to that, a four-month-old babe died erstwhile an overloaded migrant vessel sank connected the evening of 18 October. Rescuers saved 65 others.

More than 100 radical person been rescued from migrant boats successful distress since Thursday, according the French coastguard.

Several attempts to transverse the Channel were stopped by constabulary and gendarmes connected Sunday greeting - including successful Equihen-Plage, Calais and Sangatte - according to French authorities.

Officials accidental attempted crossings person accrued successful caller days owed to favourable upwind conditions.

New UK authorities figures amusement the fig of migrants who arrived successful tiny boats truthful acold this twelvemonth has already surpassed 2023's total.

As of Friday, determination had been 29,578 successful 2024, compared to 29,437 crossed each of 2023. Last year's full was little than the grounds of 45,774 arrivals successful 2022.

The Home Office has pledged to "stop astatine nothing" to dismantle people-smuggling gangs that organise tiny vessel crossings.

A spokesperson said: "Our caller borderline information bid volition fortify our planetary partnerships and heighten our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute these evil criminals."

An undercover BBC probe published connected Friday exposed a radical of people-smugglers successful Germany offering a Channel crossing "package" for €15,000 (£12,500).

The bundle included an inflatable dinghy with an outboard centrifugal and 60 beingness jackets. The smugglers said they stored the boats successful aggregate concealed warehouses to fell them from the German police.

Figures produced by the UN amusement this twelvemonth has already been the deadliest for migrant crossings successful the Channel.

The latest sinking means astatine slightest 57 radical person died attempting the travel successful 2024.

Enver Solomon, main enforcement of foundation Refugee Council, said it was "vital" that the authorities did "everything possible" to guarantee refugees nary longer had to enactment their lives successful danger.

He added: "We indispensable not hide that those making the perilous journeys crossed the Channel are hopeless men, women and children fleeing persecution and war, successful countries specified arsenic Afghanistan and Sudan, simply seeking information and a aboriginal escaped from fear."