One person has died and five others are in a serious condition after a boat carrying migrants sank in the English Channel, French authorities have confirmed. The incident occurred early on Saturday morning off Sangatte, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation involving two British ships and several French vessels.
The Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea reported that six people were recovered in a serious condition, one of whom was airlifted to Calais hospital but later pronounced dead. HM Coastguard is coordinating the UK response, with crews from Dover RNLI, Folkestone, Langdon Bay, and the South East Coast Ambulance also deployed.
The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, is expected to chair a meeting with Border Force officials later on Saturday. A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We are aware of an incident in the Channel. HM Coastguard are working on a co-ordinated response and further information will be provided in due course.'
This tragedy comes after 755 people crossed the Channel on Thursday, the highest daily total this year, pushing the total number of arrivals since 2018 past 100,000. Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock described the incident as an 'appalling, deeply shocking tragedy', while Enver Solomon of the Refugee Council urged the Government to focus on creating an 'orderly and humane asylum system'.
