200 Migrants Attempt Boat Crossing From France To UK, 12 Die En Route

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, World News Thursday, September 5th, 2024

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – About 200 migrants tried to leave French shores for the United Kingdom on Wednesday, the day after 12 people died trying to make the journey.

Angele Vettorello, a Calais charity worker and Co-ordinator at Utopia 56 made the disclosure. She said: “The crossing, it is not going to stop.

“This morning, we saw more than 200 people trying to cross and have been stopped (by police).

“We see it every month, the people don’t stop crossing.”

She said that the police were at the shore, with interventions made at night and into the morning. Vettorello said that this summer recorded an increase in the death of people in the English Channel, adding that last week was “really busy” for crossings.

“We know a lot of people who were stopped to cross and were back to shore during those seven days.

“We received calls from people in distress in boats in the channel. We received, for example, eight calls from eight different boats on Friday,” she said.

Some 317 migrants arrived in the United Kingdom on Tuesday after crossing the English Channel, according to figures from the Home Office. The cumulative number of arrivals by small boats in 2024 stands at 21,720.

This is 3% higher than the record, at this point, in 2023, when the total stood at 21,086, but 19% lower than the record, at this stage, in 2022, when the total was 26,692. Five boats arrived on Tuesday, which suggests an average of around 63 people per boat.

There were 29,437 arrivals across the whole of 2023, down 36% from 45,774 recorded in 2022.

NAN