At least three individuals have died attempting to cross the English Channel on “taxi-boats” for migrants.
The deaths of the three fatalities near the French port of Dunkirk were confirmed by the local administration overseeing the Channel in a statement on Thursday.
Another man has reportedly died in the Pas-de-Calais after attempting to reach the UK on a small boat. The mayor of Neufchâtel-Hardelot, Paulette Julien-Peuvion, told French newspaper La Voix du Nord that the man was thought to be between 30 and 49 years old and originally from Africa.
The tragedy happened as he tried to board a “taxi-boat” between Hardelot beach and the dunes of Mont Saint-Frieux, in Dannes, and the boat then capsized at around 11:30pm, the paper reported.
The boat was reportedly under the surveillance of a French rescue ship and got into trouble after taking on too many migrants at Saint-Cécile. Six other people were also taken to hospital after nearly drowning, and man with burns was airlifted to an emergency medical centre.
Up to 700 migrants are believed to have crossed the Channel in small boats yesterday as good weather conditions led to more attempts.
French police were filmed yesterday on Hardelot beach, south of Boulogne, watching on as dozens of people boarded a dinghy destined for the UK. French officers are not allowed to intervene when migrants are in the water and boarding the boats due to the risk of drowning.
The size of the rubber dinghies has increased significantly as smugglers adapt to increased police activity on French beaches. Larger boats now “taxi” around the coast of France and wait to pick up people slightly offshore, rather than launching from the sand.
A record 128 migrants arrived in one dinghy this month, up from the previous record of 125 in September last year.
In April, the UK agreed to pay France extra cash to police its shores. A £662m deal was agreed for the next three years, with around £160m of this money to be spent on new tactics such as policing to stop “taxi boats”.
The £160m tranche is conditional on the success of the French operation. The UK will pay around £501m for more officers on the beaches of northern France and more surveillance technology, despite a previous boost in funding failing to bring the number of Channel crossings down.
Charities warned that extra enforcement would push more people to flee to the UK and could lead to more deaths.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow…
