A criminal inquiry is under way in France after four migrants died in the Channel when their overcrowded dinghy deflated and capsized.
Sixty people, mainly from Africa, were on the ill-equipped boat and only one had a lifejacket, according to French officials.
Two Libyans, aged 17 and 34, have been arrested, the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office told AFP on Friday night.
The latest incident brings the number of people who have died this year trying to cross one of the world’s busiest waterways to 19. It comes amid an upsurge in migrant crossings that represent an early challenge for Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said on Twitter/X: “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 and bring down dangerous smuggler gangs.”
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But with France in political chaos, and a caretaker cabinet in charge, Cooper is likely to have to wait before holding meaningful talks on migration.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, posted: “Four deaths in the Channel this morning, the new government had better start moving fast.”
Jacques Billant, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department, told French media that the dinghy had set sail from the coast near Boulogne-sur-Mer at 2am local time. He said that it was underpowered, underinflated and of poor quality, lacking a rigid bottom. Billant said that setting sail in such conditions was “certainly to risk death”.
The dinghy was spotted at 4.30am by the Minck, a French coastguard vessel on patrol in the Channel.
“One of the tubes of the migrants’ vessel had deflated and several people were in the water,” maritime officials said. A navy patrol vessel and a lifeboat were dispatched along with a French navy helicopter. “Some of the victims were floating in the water and others were hanging onto their vessel,” the officials added.
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About 90 minutes after the first alert, 42 people were brought on board the Minck and 14 others were rescued by a fishing boat that was in the vicinity.
However, three people were spotted unconscious in the water, along with a fourth on the dinghy. All four were recovered by the navy patrol boat before an emergency medical team was winched on board from a helicopter. However, the team was unable to resuscitate the four victims.
The 53 men and three women rescued, who include Somalis, Sudanese, Libyans and Eritreans, were taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer for treatment, some in emergency medical tents put up in the port. Billant said nine were in a “relatively critical condition”.
He added that the French police’s anti-trafficking office was leading a criminal inquiry into the incident.
The most recent Home Office figures show that 419 people crossed from France in six boats on Tuesday, suggesting an average of about 70 people per boat and taking the provisional total for the year so far to 14,058. By the end of May, a record 10,170 people had arrived in small boats, beating the previous record of 9,326 who crossed to the UK by that time in 2017.
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Commentators say the numbers could escalate if the left-wing, pro-migration New Popular Front, which won the most seats in the French parliamentary elections last weekend, manages to form a minority government. It wants to create a new status of “climate refugee” that critics say would provoke an unprecedented wave of migration into France, adding to tensions on the Channel coast.
Cooper has launched a Border Security Command to crack down on people-smuggling gangs orchestrating the crossings. A commander for the unit is expected to be named within weeks.
James Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, called the deaths a “tragedy”. He added: “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.”
