The British government has announced the launching of a detailed investigation into the drowning last November of 27 people, three of whom were children, during their clandestine crossing of the Channel from France to England, following legal action by lawyers acting for several of the victims' families who suspect 'serious failings' in rescue operations.
A man believed to be of Sudanese origin has died and 30 other people were rescued on Friday after a dinghy attempting to cross the Channel to the UK ran into difficulty close to the French coast.
All of the 27 bodies recovered after the sinking in the Channel last month of an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants attempting to reach the UK from France were finally identified last week, when official permits were issued for their burials. The dead were from seven different countries, to where their families want their remains to be returned. But, as Nejma Brahim and Sarah Brethes report, the French state will only provide for burials in France, and the costs involved of repatriating the bodies are beyond the relatives’ resources.
The identities of 26 of the 27 recorded victims of the sinking in the Channel last month of a boat carrying migrants trying to cross the sea from France to the UK have been identified by the French authorities.
In the wake of the loss of at least 27 lives in the sinking last week of a boat carrying migrants sailing from France to Britain, French interior minister Gérald Darmanin said the British government must 'open up a legal immigration route' because asylum-seekers have 'no other choice' than to cross the Channel in clandestine conditions.
In the French port of Calais, relatives and friends of those lost in the sinking of a dinghy in the Channel last Wednesday, when at least 27 people died as they attempted a clandestine crossing to Britain, are desperate for answers about what happened.
Speaking after a meeting in Calais on Sunday with European counterparts to discuss clandestine migration and people trafficking, following the deaths of at least 27 people trying to cross the Channel to the UK last Wednesday, France's interior minister spoke of the need to cooperate 'seriously' on the issue with London but 'without being held hostage by domestic British politics'.
French President Emmanuel Macron described as 'not serious' UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's choice of using Twitter to set out policy propositions to France over clandestine crossings of the Channel, while an invitation for Home Secretary Priti Patel to attend a meeting in Calais on the issue has been withdrawn.
At least 27 people, including three children and seven women, one of who was pregnant, died in the Channel off the French port of Calais on Wednesday as they attempted to reach Britain in a clandestine journey by dinghy, according to the latest official toll. Sheerazad Chekaik-Chaila reports from Calais on the scenes as recovered bodies were brought to the quayside after the deadliest known tragedy involving migrants attempting to cross the Channel, and one which rescue services warn could be repeated with the arrival of treacherous winter conditions.
The latest toll of the sinking of a dinghy carrying migrants attempting to cross the Channel from France to the UK on Wednesday is at least 27 dead, including seven women, one of whom was pregnant, and three children, while two survivors are critically ill in hospital.
At least 31 migrants attempting to cross the Channel to Britain have died after their dinghy capsized on Thursday afternoon in seas close to the French port of Calais, where a search for survivors is continuing into the night.
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