Five dead on migrant boat trying to cross the Channel - as 'father saw daughter die before him'

A major search and rescue operation is launched as the French coastguard says there are "lifeless bodies" following the tragedy. It comes hours after the UK government's controversial Rwanda bill - intended to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats - was passed.

Tuesday 23 April 2024 20:46, UK

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Five migrants including a child have died during an attempt to cross the English Channel in a small boat.

A seven-year-old girl, a woman and three men died in the incident off the coast of Wimereux in northern France, local official Jacques Billant said.

The French coastguard said there was a failed attempt to cross the Channel and there were several "lifeless bodies".

The tragedy came just hours after the UK government's controversial Rwanda bill - intended to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats - was passed.

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Some 112 people were on board the overcrowded boat, Mr Billant said.

A total of 47 people were rescued, with four taken to hospital, while more than 50 others chose to continue on their journey, the official added.

Charity worker Sandrine, who witnessed the incident, told Sky News she saw two dinghies in difficulty.

"I saw them bringing in the bodies and the father (of the girl who died) fell into my arms," she said.

"I said to myself: 'This can't be possible. He has a child'.

"They tried to resuscitate her but she had died. The helicopters arrived and then there were four other bodies.

"The father saw his daughter die before him."

Writing on X, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "These tragedies have to stop. I will not accept a status quo which costs so many lives."

He said ministers are "doing everything we can to end this trade".

Conservative MP, Robert Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister over the government's Rwanda plan in December, urged the EU to grant member states legal cover "to seize these unseaworthy boats" after what he called "another intolerable tragedy".

Earlier, Sky News filmed a suspected migrant boat attempting to cross the Channel but it is not known if that was the one involved in the deadly incident.

Some suspected migrants were pictured arriving at the Port of Dover on a British Border Force vessel on Tuesday.

Sky's Europe correspondent Adam Parsons, reporting from the northern French coast, said at least four vessels were involved in the rescue operation off the coast of Wimereux, as well as helicopters.

Sea conditions were "perfect", he said [and], "if you were trying to cross the Channel in a small boat, this is the day you would do it, so if you can't make it on a day like this, it shows how dangerous it is".

The boat, he said, is believed to have hit a sandbar at around 5am, causing people to enter the water.

The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats extremely hazardous.

People smugglers typically overload rickety dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at risk of being lashed by the waves as they try to reach Britain.

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The Rwanda bill, which Rishi Sunak says will curb the illegal trade, is set to finally become law after the House of Lords decided they would no longer oppose it following hours of wrangling. The measure was finally approved at around midnight.

Mr Sunak has pledged the first flights will take off "in 10 to 12 weeks".

Human rights groups have described the legislation as inhumane and cruel.