Japa: Migrant dies attempting to cross Channel to UK

A migrant died Sunday in an attempt to cross the Channel to UK, a death that comes on top of two deadly boat sinkings in the past 10 days, French officials said.

The man, an Indian citizen, had set off from the beach of Tardinghen in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.

“The vessel, which was in very poor condition, deflated immediately after leaving the beach” at around 5:30 am (0430 GMT) the local prefecture said in a statement.

Not all the passengers had life jackets, but most on board were able to swim back to shore.

One man “of Indian nationality, around 40 years old, was in cardio-respiratory arrest” and could not be revived by emergency services, the prefecture added.

Sunday’s death brings the total on the France-Britain route across the Channel to at least 56 in 2024, already more than any previous year with two months remaining.

Two men and a woman were killed on Wednesday when their boat was wrecked around two kilometres offshore near port city Calais.

The previous week, a four-month-old baby had died after a boat disintegrated.

And three migrants were hospitalised Friday after suffering injury or hypothermia in attempted crossings.

“We can’t bear any more of this migration policy. As far as we’re concerned, that’s what’s responsible” for the deaths, said Axel Gaudiant, coordinator of migrant aid association Utopia 46 in Calais.

Britain and France have worked together for years to prevent people departing northern France in small boats.

Over 29,000 migrants have made it across the Channel since the start of 2024, according to the British Home Office, the UK’s equivalent of an interior ministry.