A 40-year-old man tragically lost his life on Sunday while trying to cross the Channel from northern France to the UK. According to the prefecture in Calais, the man, who was of Indian heritage, suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after the inflatable boat he was in, carrying around 50 others, deflated just minutes after departing from the French coast.
Everyone else on board managed to swim back to shore, but the man collapsed upon reaching the beach. Emergency services attempted resuscitation but were unable to revive him.
The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. local time (04:30 GMT) near the town of Tardinghen. This brings the total number of fatalities this year during Channel crossings to 57, making it the deadliest year recorded for such attempts. Despite the dangers, the number of people attempting the crossing remains high.
As of Saturday, the number of individuals crossing the Channel in small boats this year has surpassed the total for all of 2023, with 29,642 people making the journey compared to 29,437 last year. It is unlikely that the total of 45,755 small boat arrivals recorded in 2022 will be exceeded by the end of December 2024. On Saturday alone, 64 people crossed in a single boat.
The Calais prefecture noted that since favorable weather conditions returned on Monday evening, there has been increased activity along the coastline, with many migrants attempting to set sail. French authorities reported 57 incidents since that Monday, including 32 attempts intercepted by police.
They revealed that the dinghy involved in the man’s death was in very poor condition and deflated immediately after leaving the shore, forcing those on board into the water. Not everyone had life jackets.
An investigation has been initiated by the public prosecutor in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, commented, “This is yet another tragic and preventable loss of life in the Channel, with fatalities occurring shockingly frequently. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to these tragedies. Each death serves as a reminder that those undertaking these dangerous journeys are desperate individuals seeking refuge from terror, war, and oppression.”
