Four immigrants from Syrian and Iraqi nationality They died in the early hours of Sunday while trying to cross the English Channel. The inflatable boat in which they were traveling began to capsize shortly after leaving the French coast. Wimereux, south of Calais, when more than 70 people tried to board. The state of the sea and low temperatures contributed to the deaths.
The French coast guard deployed a rescue operation, with the help of 50 firefighters, and managed to rescue 60 people who were treated in hospitals and community centers. At least one of them was in critical condition in a hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Its about first fatal incident in the English Channelin 2024. The last personal tragedy occurred on December 15, 2023, with the death of an immigrant and the rescue of 66 people in a boat eight kilometers from the coast, near Griz Nez.
Since December 16, no Channel crossing had actually taken place. For 26 days in a row, and for the first time in five years, there had been no arrivals of irregular immigrants in Dover.
The number of crossings was reduced by a third in 2023 (29,437) compared to the record year of 2022 (45,774). Even so, last year it was second in the ranking, despite the efforts of Rishi Sunak’s Government with the new immigration law and the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.