One Migrant Dead After Boat Carrying 66 People Sinks In English Channel

In a tragic incident in the English Channel, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France, a migrant died after the boat carrying 66 migrants towards Britain ran into difficulty off the northern French coast.

An inflatable dinghy was carrying 66 migrants. The boat got into difficulties about five miles from the French coast near Grand-Fort Philippe. The French coastguard found that one of its inflatable tubes had deflated. Many migrants were in the cold waters of the Channel.

Two people were pulled from the sea. A person was found critically ill. Migrant survivors were sent to Calais, where the injured person is being treated.

Search operations are still continuing. 

The English Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Around 29,000 people have made the Channel crossing on boats so far this year.

In 2021, at least 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank in the Channel. Over 200 migrants have died at sea while trying to reach the UK since 2014. Six people died in August after a dinghy sank in the Channel.

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Migrant crisis

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), has taken a tougher stance on the flow of migrants across the Channel. The government has made ‘stopping the boats’ a key part of the election campaign ahead of a general election that is set to be held by January 2025.

Around 29,000 people have already crossed the Channel, hoping to start a new life in Britain. Around 1,000 people are currently living rough in and around Calais, a city in France, hoping to cross the Channel and start a new life in Britain. This also includes 130 migrant teenagers. 

Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said that migrant children and migrant teenagers were suffering because of Britain’s new immigration rules.