At least eight migrants have died whilst trying to cross the channel from France to the UK, the French authorities reported on Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENTFrench authorities have reported that at least eight migrants have lost their lives whilst trying to reach the UK by crossing the channel from France.
Their boat sank off the coast of northern France near the town of Ambleteuse, according to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture.
The fact that migrants were prepared to risk their lives so soon after a dozen others lost theirs trying to cross the busy waterway from France to Britain underscored the magnitude of the problem for the French and UK governments.
In what was the worst boat tragedy of this year, twelve migrants died on 4 September when their small inflatable ripped apart on a failed effort to cross the English Channel.
Cross-Channel migration was a key focus in the UK general election in July, which the Labour Party won resoundingly to make its leader, Keir Starmer, the new prime minister.
One of the first measures the new UK government immediately enacted was to scrap the previous Conservative government’s plan to send some migrants arriving in small boats to Rwanda rather than being allowed to seek asylum in Britain. Human rights groups criticised the plan.
Starmer called the plan a “gimmick” and wouldn’t act as a deterrent. Instead, his government has opted to divert some of the money saved from ditching the program into setting up a strengthened border force to “smash” the criminal gangs behind the small-boat arrivals.
