A migrant died while trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain on an overcrowded vessel early Friday morning, marking the third deadly shipwreck within a week, according to French authorities. The deceased, identified as Sudanese, was among 85 people rescued after their vessel began sinking.
Shortly before 1:00 am (2300 GMT Thursday), the migrants sent a distress call to a French navy patrol, who then rescued five people drifting in the water and transferred the others from the sinking vessel. During the rescue, the crew discovered that one man had died.
Three individuals from the vessel were arrested, prosecutors in Boulogne-sur-Mer reported.
On Wednesday, an Eritrean woman died attempting to cross the Channel on a vessel carrying 72 migrants off the coast of Gravelines. Last Friday, four migrants drowned off Boulogne-sur-Mer when their deflated vessel sank, though a navy patrol managed to rescue dozens from the water.
A 25-year-old Ethiopian migrant named Dargie, who survived Wednesday’s wreck, recounted the harrowing experience. “It was very difficult, the boat sank because of the overload,” he told AFP. Despite the dangers, he remains determined to reach England. “I have no choice… If I get a better opportunity from crossing the border, I will accept it,” he said.
Another survivor, Anwar Muhammad, shared that the migrants had been told there would be 40 people on the boat, but there were far more, and only 20 had life jackets.
Friday’s death brings the number of migrants who have died attempting to cross the Channel this year to 22, up from 12 in 2023.
In response to the ongoing crisis, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to “strengthen their cooperation on irregular migration” during bilateral talks on Thursday. Starmer acknowledged the complexity of the issue, stating there was “no easy silver bullet” to stop the perilous crossings.
