Wimereux/Rome. Just a day after 12 migrants died in a failed attempt to cross the English Channel aboard a small inflatable boat, another boat carrying several dozen people appeared to be making a new attempt to reach Britain from the northern French coast on Wednesday, closely followed by French patrol boats.
The fact that migrants were willing to risk their lives on the same journey so soon after the deaths of a dozen people underlined the magnitude of the migration problem for the governments of both countries.
The mayor of Wimereux, the town on the French coast where reporters from The Associated Press who spotted and filmed the raft on Wednesday morning, called on French and British authorities to do more to stem the flow of migrants.
“Unfortunately, it is like this every day for us. Human traffickers – a criminal network – continue to insist on sending people to die in the canal. It is truly unacceptable, scandalous. And it is time to find a lasting solution with the United Kingdom,” said Mayor Jean-Luc Dubaële by telephone.
“Let us ask ourselves one question: why do they want to go to the UK? Because there is something that attracts them,” he added. “They can ask for asylum in France. (But) nobody claims the right to asylum in France. They all want to go to the UK. So it is time for us to sit down with the new British government. The British government is ready to discuss all this, let us take advantage of it.”
The French maritime agency that oversees that stretch of the busy canal between France and Britain confirmed to AP that migrants were on board the inflatable raft. The AP team estimated there were between 40 and 50 people on board.
The agency said an operation was underway to monitor the boat in case it suffered a mishap or the people on board needed assistance. It also said the patrol boat Armoise was taking part in the operation, accompanied by a smaller vessel.
The raft was so loaded that some of those on board, crowded side by side, had their legs over the edge.
Many were wearing orange life jackets. At one point, a small patrol boat flying the French flag came close and one of its crew members threw more jackets, about half a dozen, to the raft’s occupants, who caught them.
The grey waters of the English Channel were relatively calm, with small waves breaking on the shore where people were out walking and taking their dogs out.
The inflatable boat, however, seemed to be moving very slowly. Although AP reporters filmed it for more than an hour, it could be seen without any problems from the shore, with the small patrol boat surrounding it.
According to British government figures, at least 21,720 migrants have managed to cross the English Channel so far this year. That’s 3% more than the same period last year, but 19% less than the same months in 2022.
20 migrants missing after shipwreck in the Mediterranean
Meanwhile, around 20 migrants are reportedly missing after their boat sank in the Mediterranean, the UN refugee agency said Wednesday.
Seven Syrians have been rescued and taken to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, the Italian coast guard said.
Chiara Cardoletti, representative in Italy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told X that the seven survivors are “in critical condition and many have lost their relatives.”
Survivors said they had left Libya on September 1 and the accident occurred a day later, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
According to survivors, 20 people are missing, including three minors.
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– 2024-09-12 12:46:29
