One migrant has died and 72 others have been rescued from a small boat carrying more than 110 people as it tried to reach the UK from northern France, French authorities said.
What happened
The boat was being monitored in the Gravelines area of northern France overnight from Thursday to Friday by the French coastguard. The crew found one person on board who required CPR and dispatched a rescue helicopter, but the migrant was later pronounced dead. Three other people were found injured, one of whom needed urgent medical care.
Wider context
The incident comes after 494 migrants arrived in the UK on Thursday — the first successful Channel crossing in 10 days. Overall, however, small-boat crossings are down this year: some 16,391 migrants have crossed the Channel so far, a fall of 43% compared with the same period last year, according to analysis of government data by the Press Association.
What ministers said
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would not be “complacent” about the falling numbers, adding that she had “boosted enforcement on the French beaches and overseas and introduced new legislation to tackle the pull factors that draw people here through unsafe and illegal routes”. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government would be “relentless” in tackling people-smuggling gangs, and called for “a system that offers safe routes for people as well, because that also takes away the selling point of the gangs”.
Originally reported by Sky News.
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Timeline
- 14:44 — Source update: # Migrant dies and 72 others rescued from small boat trying to reach UK The French coastguard was monitoring the boat in the Gravelines area of northern France, with three other migrants found injured
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