At least 12 migrants die trying to cross English Channel

At least 12 migrants have died after their boat sank trying to cross the English Channel, the French coastguard has said.

The deaths have been confirmed after up to 65 people were rescued in a search operation off the coast of Cap Gris-Nez on Tuesday.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Terrible shipwreck in Pas-de-Calais, off Wimereux.

"The provisional toll stands at 12 dead, two missing and several injured.

"All government services are mobilised to find the missing and take care of the victims. I go to the elected officials and the emergency services."

The mayor of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer where the casualties are being treated, Olivier Barbarin, said that the bottom of the boat "ripped open." He had earlier put the death toll at around 13.

The French coastguard had said all of the people on board the dinghy ended up in the water and several of the migrants need emergency medical care.

A spokesperson for the coastguard said the operation is ongoing with a number of helicopters and boats, including from the French navy, assisting in the rescue efforts.

The incident comes as more migrants arrived in Dover on Tuesday after crossing the English Channel.

Pictures show men, women and children coming ashore from Dungeness lifeboat and Border Force vessels.

The International Organisation for Migration, which records Channel crossing deaths as part of its Missing Migrant Project, estimates 226 people including 35 children are missing or have died after attempting the crossing as of January this year.

According to the French coastguard, there have been at least 19 deaths in 2024 prior to Tuesday's incident, including nine since the start of July.

Last year, 12 migrants are thought to have died or were recorded as missing.

Reacting to the deaths in the Channel on Tuesday, Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: "The number of deaths in the Channel this year has been shockingly high.

"It is a devastating trend that shows the urgent need for a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to reduce dangerous Channel crossings.

"Enforcement alone is not the solution. Heightened security and policing measures on the French coast have led to increasingly perilous crossings, launching from more dangerous locations and in flimsy, overcrowded vessels.

"In addition to taking action against the criminal gangs themselves, the Government must develop a plan to improve and expand safe routes for those seeking safety."