PARIS – 27 people have died in the sinking of a migrant boat off the coast of Calais, on the English Channel: the boat was headed for the United Kingdom, according to sources cited by French TV Bfm. The French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, speaks of “tragedy”.
The boat overturned. The maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said a rescue operation is underway to find other people who may still be at sea, while some have already been rescued. An air and sea device was deployed with two helicopters, a French navy patrol boat, a coastal maritime surveillance vessel and a lifeboat.
The Bbc he said he understood that today about 25 boats have tried to make the crossing. The French coast guard had issued a distress call for 15 people who ended up in the water, the British broadcaster reported. Earlier this week, the Interior Minister Priti Patel he described the number of illegal migrants leaving France as “unacceptable”.
On Monday, the number of migrants who reached the UK by sea this year exceeded the 2020 total by more than three times.
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