Six children and pregnant woman among 12 dead in deadliest migrant boat tragedy this year

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Louise Thomas

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Six children and a pregnant woman were among at least 12 migrants who died on Tuesday when their boat was “ripped open” during the deadliest attempted Channel crossing this year.

More than 53 survivors were plucked from waters off Gris-Nez point, between Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, during a major air and sea rescue operation.

A nearby rescue vessel was joined by two fishing boats, a French Navy vessel and local lifeboats.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper described the incident as “horrifying and deeply tragic”, saying that French services “undoubtedly saved many lives, but sadly could not save everyone”.

Before the latest tragedy at least 30 people have died or gone missing while trying to cross to Britain this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration – up from 24 in 2023. More than 2,100 people have arrived in Britain on small boats over the past seven days, according to official UK figures, taking the provisional total this year to 21,403.

Almost 70 migrants were crammed into a vessel only 23 feet (seven metres) long when it got into difficulty in open waters.

“Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open,” said Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, where a first aid post was set up to treat victims. “If people don’t know how to swim in the agitated waters ... it can go very quickly.”

Border security and asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “It is a worrying trend that boats are being filled with many more people than we have seen in past times. And also the quality of boats is deteriorating, so these crossings are getting more and more dangerous as time goes on.

Related: ‘I will never forgive myself’: Father recalls heartbreaking moment daughter died on small boat

“They’re always dangerous, this is a very, very busy shipping lane, but the danger and the risk seem to be rising and today’s tragic incident is a representation of that.”

Of those who died on Tuesday, half were children, Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor Guirec Le Bras told reporters. He added that 10 of them were female and two were male, with most of the migrants coming from Eritrea. A pregnant woman was also among the dead, the Boulogne-sur-Mer mayor Frédéric Cuvillier told the BBC at the scene.

Labour has vowed to “smash” the people-smuggling gangs behind the crossings, in part through increased cooperation with other European nations.

Ms Cooper moved to establish a new Border Security Command in her first days in office, while last week, Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron pledged to work together more closely to dismantle migrant smuggling routes.

Labour also scrapped the Conservative government’s “small boats” scheme – designed to send those who arrive in the UK on the vessels to Rwanda – within days of coming to office.

Ministers denounced the policy as a “gimmick” that had failed in its central aim – to deter the journeys.

But former home secretary James Cleverly called for the Rwanda plan to be reinstated in the wake of the deaths.

“This is tragic and it cannot continue,” he tweeted. “It is not enough to talk about smashing the gangs when the real-life consequences are so serious. Labour must re-establish the deterrent that the NCA said we need to stop vulnerable people being exploited and secure our border.”

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said there had been a “shockingly high” number of deaths in the Channel this year and the “devastating trend shows the urgent need for a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to reduce dangerous crossings”.

“Enforcement alone is not the solution,” he added, calling on ministers to open up more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers.

The British Red Cross said: “Nobody risks their life travelling across the Channel in a small boat unless they feel they have no other choice.”

Steve Smith, CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais, said: “One life lost in the Channel is too much, but this year these tragedies have occurred with much more frequency and that is a deeply worrying trend that needs to be stopped.”

He added: “Every political leader, on both sides of our Channel, needs to be asked how many lives will be lost before they end these avoidable tragedies. Their continued obsession, and investment, in security measures is not reducing crossings, it is simply pushing people to take ever-increasing risks to do so.”

Nadine Tunasi, of the charity Freedom From Torture, said: “I know from the survivors I work with that no one gets into an overcrowded and unseaworthy dingy to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes without a desperate need to find safety.

“Too much time has been wasted on gimmicks and hateful politics, while conflict continues to push people to take dangerous routes to sanctuary.”

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin went to Boulogne-sur-Mer to meet rescuers at the scene.

“We absolutely must – and this is a very important point – re-establish special relations with our British friends,” he said, calling for harmonised immigration legislation between Britain and France.

Additional reporting by AP