Four migrants die after boat capsizes in the Channel: Authorities rescue 63 others as Nigel Farage says new Government 'had better start moving fast' to tackle crisis
Four migrants have drowned overnight attempting to cross the Channel - sparking calls from Nigel Farage for Britain's new government to 'start moving fast' to tackle the crisis as he warned 'many more will die'.
A packed boat carrying about 67 asylum seekers capsized at 4.30am on Friday off the coast of Boulogne sur Mer, in northern France.
A major rescue mission was launched involving four ships and a helicopter, with 63 people saved - with a passing fishing vessel pulling 14 of the survivors from the sea.
But four migrant not wearing lifejackets died, sparking a police investigation, with French prosecutors, believing the 'poor quality, under-powered' craft was organised by people smugglers charging around £1,000-a-head on Friday.
The enquiry is focused on the 'manslaughter' of four victims, who have not been identified yet.
The latest tragedy brings this year's migrant death toll to 19, making 2024 one of the deadliest years on record.
Reacting to Friday's disaster, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage - who was sworn in as MP for Clacton yesterday, wrote: '4 deaths in the Channel this morning, the new Government had better start moving fast.'
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Farage added: 'Huge numbers are going to come and many more will die. This is unacceptable at every level.'
Migrants, some wearing lifejackets, were seen on Thursday morning packing onto a beach at Graveslines in Normandy as they sought to sail to the UK
French cops wearing riot gear were later pictured watching on as the migrants launched into the Channel on their overpacked inflatable boat on Thursday
Some 35 migrants arrived in Dover this morning, after making the crossing overnight
Nigel Farage (pictured being sworn in to the House of Commons as an MP) said Britain's new Labour government must 'act fast' to tackle the migrant crisis
Pictured is a map showing where the migrant boat got into difficulty in the Channel having set off from northern France overnight on Thursday
Those responsible also face charges of 'criminal association', and the 'assistance of foreigners in an irregular situation,' a French prosecuting source added.
Instead of life jackets, each was given a poorly inflated inner tube to hang on to in case of difficulty.
Just one person on board – believed to be a man appointed by people smugglers to skipper the boat – had a life jacket.
It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced to concede this week that it could take years to solve the crisis.
Some 60 men, women and children set off in the boat in the early hours of Friday, despite wind and heavy rain making conditions for the journey 'extremely poor'.
Jacques Billant, the Pas de Calais prefeet, said the boat set off from the Boulogne coast around 2am.
'Rescue resources were immediately deployed by the Maritime Prefect, including a fishing vessel which was present in the area,' Mr Billant said.
'The sailors saw four inanimate people and 56 other migrants, including three women in great difficulty near the wreckage.'
Describing 'a tragedy with very serious consequences,' Mr Billant said 'the weather was particularly unfavourable'.
Latest Home Office figures show 419 people made the journey across the Channel from France to the UK in six boats on Tuesday, suggesting an average of around 70 people per boat and taking the provisional total for 2024 to date to 14,058.
Men were seen being taken ashore after reaching the UK in the early hours today
Some of Thursday's departures were forced to wade through neck-high water to reach their boat. This picture was captured in the morning at Graveslines beach
Pictured is a group of migrants setting off on Thursday morning from Gravelines in Normandy
Home Secretary described Friday's disaster as 'truly awful'. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, she said: 'The further loss of life in the Channel this morning is truly awful.
'My thoughts are with all those affected.
'Criminal gangs are making vast profit from putting lives at risk.
'We are accelerating action with international partners to pursue & bring down dangerous smuggler gangs.'
Tory shadow home secretary James Cleverly said on X: 'Reports of more deaths in the channel are a tragedy.
'As a country we must do everything in our power to stop the boats and put an end to this vile trade in human suffering.'
The boat is believed to have capsized shortly after 4.30am. Local media reports rescuers responded to a mayday call at about 6am.
'Some survivors were clinging on to the remains of the boat, which had deflated in open sea,' said the Maritime Prefecture spokesman.
Three of those who died were found in the water, while the fourth was in the remains of the boat, he added.
The Minck – a French rescue boat based in Calais – was first on the scene and was soon assisted by a fishing boat.
Migrants are seen setting sail on Thursday morning in a boat at Gravelines beach in France
'The two boats picked up as many people from the sea as possible,' said the spokesman.
A Navy helicopter based at Le Touquet was then involved in looking for survivors, before other rescue craft arrived.
Survivors - which reportedly included a number of women and children - were taken to Boulogne sur Mer for treatment.
In April, five people including a four-year-old girl lost their lives.
They suffocated in a gruesome accident on a small boat which – despite the horror – continued on its way to Britain.
People smugglers were suspected of charging each up to £1,000-a-head to board the inflatable dinghy packed with 112 people, instead of an advised 20.
It got in to difficulty off Wimereux beach, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, flinging around 50 people into the bitterly cold water.
Some of those who fell in, including the four-year-old girl, got caught underneath the boat, and were trapped by the weight of those still on board.
Some migrants appear to take off their shoes and throw them as they waded through the sea
Following the deaths former Home Secretary James Cleverly said: 'These tragedies have to stop. I will not accept a status quo which costs so many lives.'
Five migrants also drowned while trying to get to Britain from Wimereux beach on January 14.
The worst tragedy of this kind came in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.
Arrivals reaching Britain in 2024 are 10 per cent higher than the number recorded this time last year (12,772) and up six per cent on the same period in 2022 (13,318).
The latest disaster came as French police were seen standing by and watching as dozens of migrants packed into an overloaded dingy and set off across the Channel on Thursday.
French police in riot gear were spotted attempting to stop the migrants crossing the Channel
About a dozen officers, some armed with riot shields and batons, were pictured at the water's edge in Gravelines, Normandy - about 40 miles from Boulogne sur Mer on the north coast of France.
The coastal route is a well-known jump off for human trafficker gangs seeking to illegally smuggle asylum seekers into Britain.
Groups of migrants often camp in the sand dunes or use old Second World War fortifications dotted around the beach before the leave.
In the latest images from the beach yesterday morning, French cops appeared to try and deter a group of migrants by firing tear gas. However, when this failed, the helpless officers then stood by and watched as the packed boat sailed away.
A witness who saw the drama claimed French officers had initially tried to stop migrants as they dashed out from the encampments close to the beach.
But the authorities' efforts appeared to fail, with a large group of migrants seen setting sail from Gravelines beach on Thursday (pictured)
But when this failed, they resorted to blasting them with tear gas as the asylum seekers entered the sea - as officers refused to give chase.
'The whole thing was just a complete waste of time,' one witness told MailOnline.
They added: 'The police fired tear gas and you could hear all this screaming. They clearly fire it as a warning.'
Speaking to the Mail earlier this week about their futile efforts to clampdown on the migrants, one French officer said: 'We catch some - but we can't catch them all.
'While my colleagues were arresting some of the 'ferrymen' in town, then slashing their boats, scores more migrants were hiding in the dunes waiting for dinghies to arrive from the sea to pick them up.'
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was forced to admit this week that Britain's small boats crisis will get worse before it gets better.
Keir Starmer (pictured yesterday) has warned the number of migrants arriving in small boats is likely to increase in the near future
French police appeared to fire tear gas at some of the migrants but this failed to stop some from reaching the overloaded boat on Thursday
Some 484 migrants have arrived in the UK since Sir Keir became PM in the wake of Labour's election victory last week.
For the first time in two years, migrants no longer face the threat of being flown to Rwanda upon arrival in Dover, after Labour scrapped the policy on day one of Sir Keir's administration.
It's prompted fears that more migrants may now risk their lives to take on the 20-mile journey to Britain.
Poor weather meant the first crossing under the new Labour Government came on Monday after a six day pause, with 65 migrants on a dinghy from France later brought ashore at Dover, Kent.
In a statement on Wednesday Sir Keir said his plan to 'smash' the people-smuggling gangs would eventually 'stop those crossings' but admitted it could take years.
But he refused to guarantee the boats will have been stopped by the next election.
Speaking to reporters on a trip to Washington DC, the Prime Minister said: 'Nobody but nobody should be making these crossings. The numbers are going up, not down. That is why we want to smash the gangs to stop those crossings.
'What I'm not going to do is pick an arbitrary date, an arbitrary number because that hasn't worked in the past. But I do want to be clear that my intention is to break down the gangs that are running this vile trade putting people into boats on the coast of France.'
Pressed again on whether the situation will deteriorate before it improves, he added: 'It can't be changed overnight. What we can do is set up our first steps straight away.
'The Border Security Command... will lead on smashing the gangs.
'I do not accept these are the only gangs that can't be brought down. I'm determined that our Border Security Command working with others will do so. That's why it's got such a rich mix of security and intelligence, alongside prosecutors, alongside law enforcement.
'And we will get on with the recruitment and setting up that Command at speed.'
