A migrant has died and 72 people have been rescued from a boat carrying more than 110 people attempting to reach the UK across the English Channel. The French coastguard reported that a rescue vessel monitoring a boat near Gravelines in northern France overnight from Thursday to Friday picked up 72 migrants who requested help.
Crew members found one person on the boat who needed CPR, and a rescue helicopter was dispatched, but the migrant was pronounced dead. Three other people were found injured, including one who required urgent medical care, according to a translated statement from the Prefecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord.
Details of the Incident
The deceased was a 34-year-old Afghan national. Another man was stabbed, and two women were burned on the vessel, according to the Daily Mail. Forty-five of those on board continued towards the UK and were picked up by a British rescue vessel, French authorities said.
The fatality came after 494 migrants arrived in the UK on Thursday, the first successful Channel crossings in 10 days. The seven boats that made the crossing were the first since August 17, when 250 people arrived.
Impact and Context
The total number of crossings is down overall this year, according to analysis of Government data. At least 16 migrants have died this year trying to reach Britain by small boat. A man and three women were found dead on beaches near Dunkirk and Calais this month alone.
Some 16,391 migrants have crossed the Channel so far, down 43% on the same time last year and a 17% drop from the same point in 2024. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she will not be "complacent" about the falling numbers and that there is more the Government must do.
She added: "That is why I have boosted enforcement on the French beaches and overseas and introduced new legislation to tackle the pull factors that draw people here through unsafe and illegal routes."
