At least 27 people (according to sources cited by BFM TV) died in the sinking of a boat off the coast of Calais, on the English Channel.
These were migrants headed from France to Great Britain. According to the Ministry of the Interior, “around 2 pm a fisherman reported the discovery of about fifteen bodies floating off Calais. A ship of the National Navy has fished out several bodies, five of which of dead people and five in a state of unconsciousness, according to a provisional toll ”.
The French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, speaks of “a tragedy”.
The boat overturned. The maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea has specified that a rescue operation is still underway to find other people who may still be at sea. Two helicopters, a National Navy patrol boat, a coastguard lookout and lifeboats are also deployed.
In recent months, the situation of migrants on the French coast, waiting to move to Great Britain, has worsened day by day, with a significant increase in attempts to cross the Channel, often desperate.
The sporting goods chain, Decathlon, has banned the sale of canoes in the area after some migrants attempted to reach the British coast with those makeshift vehicles. Last Saturday, 243 migrants attempting to reach England were rescued off Calais.
«Strong emotion in front of the tragedy of the many deaths in the capsizing of a boat of migrants in the English Channel. We cannot say enough about the criminal nature of the smugglers who organize these crossings. I’m going to the place ».
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who went to the scene of the tragedy, wrote it on Twitter.