Migrant dies in English Channel crossing attempt, over 400 rescued

Agencies | Paris

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

One person has died and another was missing while trying to cross the English Channel while more than 400 people were rescued from small boats between Tuesday night and Wednesday, French maritime authorities said, as a steady stream of migrants strives to reach Britain.

Several ships from the French Navy, coast guard and customs authority, as well as a naval helicopter, were involved in the rescue operations, France's Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and North Sea (PREMAR) said on Wednesday, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.

PREMAR said that more than 400 people were rescued during a French-led rescue operation in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais.

"Unfortunately, despite the resources deployed, one person is missing and another was declared dead," it said in a statement.

Survivors told rescuers that one person had fallen into the sea, but the search for the individual was fruitless and it was suspended, PREMAR said. Another person was recovered unconscious and pronounced dead upon returning to the dock.

The rescued migrants were taken to the ports of Calais and Dunkirk, where they were cared for by aid workers, the statement added.

Almost 16,000 migrants have been rescued on the English Channel between France and Britain through the end of August this year - a significant increase from previous years.

Meanwhile, over 20,200 people have successfully reached Britain in small boats so far this year, according to figures collated by the PA news agency. This is more than double the total for the whole of 2020.

The British government, which introduced stricter migrations rules in the wake of Brexit, is keen to reduce the flow of illegal arrivals. London and Paris recently agreed to tighten their controls along the coasts.

Hundreds of migrants are currently waiting in Calais for an opportunity to cross, while efforts have begun to provide them with decent accommodation.

Three members of aid organizations are hunger-striking in the port city in protest against the miserable living conditions, prompting a visit on Wednesday by Didier Leschi, head of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (Ofii), in a bid to mediate.

Leschi announced that accommodation would be built for up to 300 migrants in Calais.

After spending a night there, residents would then be bussed to quarters outside the city, the France Info broadcaster reported.

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart voiced her opposition to the emergency accommodation plans. "It is out of the question," she said, arguing that there was no suitable place for such a facility in the city.

The French authorities, which frequently clear small migrant camps, want to avoid another Calais "jungle." The term refers to a notorious tent city where 9,000 migrants had been living before police evicted the crowds in 2016.