Published
Video length: 2 min
English Channel: eight migrants die in a shipwreck during a crossing
Eight people lost their lives on the night of Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 September after trying to cross the Channel to Great Britain. Several of the survivors were hospitalised.
(France 2)
Eight people lost their lives on the night of Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 September after trying to cross the Channel to Great Britain. Several of the survivors were hospitalised.
The night of Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 September was deadly in Pas-de-Calais. 59 migrants tried to set sail to reach Great Britain on board an inflatable boat. Their boat quickly capsized and crashed on the rocks at Ambleteuse (Pas-de-Calais). The mayor of the town was one of the first on the scene to rescue the survivors.Water and clothes were brought to help them.“, said Stéphane Pinto, mayor (SE) of Ambleteuse.
51 castaways were rescued, 6 are in relative emergency, including a 10-month-old baby.
On Sunday morning, the authorities denounced the smugglers who do not hesitate to make the migrants take all the risks.The boats are overloaded, they are of poor quality, they are under-inflated and there are no life jackets.“, explained the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, Jacques Billant.
Migrants of Sudanese, Eritrean and Egyptian origin were on the boat. Two weeks ago, 12 migrants had already lost their lives in the same region. Since the beginning of the year, at least 45 people have died trying to reach Great Britain.