27 dead by drowning while crossing English Channel

Thursday, November 25, 2021

On Wednesday, up to 27 migrants died by drowning, after their inflatable boat overturned as they tried to cross the English Channel from France. Gerald Darmanin (French Interior Minister) said 34 people were on board. According to Reuters, among them, two were rescued and one is missing. It is the worst recorded tragedy including migrants between the two countries.

The Interior Ministry revised later the initial death toll to 27 without any kind of explanation. The nationality of the migrants was not immediately clear. The survivors are suffering from hypothermia said Darmanin. According to reports, it’s a catastrophe for France, Europe, for humanity, to look to this person who is at the mercy of smugglers who perish at sea.

According to the media reporting, smugglers are responsible. Four people were arrested by the French police due to suspect of some involvement in the drowning and opened a manslaughter investigation. Emmanuel Macron (French President) said European governments better mention migrant movements across the channel.

France won’t make the channel become a cemetery. Boris Johnson (British Prime Minister) calls for an emergency meeting on Wednesday for the tragedy. He added more to it, to break up human-trafficking gangs, which was literally getting away with murder needs to be done.

The channel is a common crossing for the migrants, who are increasingly using it to reach Britain from France. The no. of migrants who reached the U.K. by boat in 2021 was three times greater than the 2020 total. Earlier this month, more than 1,000 migrants arrived in a single day.

The channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and boats can overturn in its strong currents. French Police succeeded in preventing more crossing in a few years but have partially reduced the waves of migrants trying to reach Britain. The continuous flow of migrants across the channel and to resemble them has been a source of tension between Britain and France.

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