The trauma of fishermen who tried to save migrants shipwrecked in the English Channel

The sinking of a zodiac on Tuesday, off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), cost the lives of 12 migrants from the Horn of Africa. Franceinfo met the fishermen who rescued the sinking boat.

This is the deadliest shipwreck of the year in Pas-de-Calais. 12 migrants from the Horn of Africa died when their overloaded boat sank just five kilometres off the French coast on Tuesday 3 September. The mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Frédéric Cuvillier, denounces “a terrible situation”with attempts continuing every day despite the danger and police and gendarmerie patrols. Franceinfo met the fishermen who came to the aid of the boat in distress.

They set sail again on Wednesday morning at 3am from the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer to set their pots, as if nothing had happened. The less we talk about it, the less we think about it, confides one of them, while a second half-admits to having been traumatised by what he experienced on Tuesday. The four crew members were called late in the morning to come to the aid of the zodiac filled with around sixty migrants that was sinking a few kilometres from the coast.

“The Zodiac was sinking. We picked up the life jackets, and as we went around we saw the bodies. There were seven or eight of them.”says fishing boss Gaëtan. “There were clothes and bodies everywhere. We were asked to go around in circles to collect them. We only recovered one person, between 20 and 30 years old, who had died,” continues his teammate Bruno.
Did they have any chance of reaching England under these conditions? “Given the way the zodiac was, I don’t think so. Usually, they manage to get through with those, but there were too many people there. One boat for 60 people is way too many. I don’t understand why they’re fleeing with so many on one boat.”he adds.

The arrival of the rescue services nevertheless allowed 51 castaways to be saved. It is not unthinkable that some will try the crossing again, like Adel, 25, who we met a few kilometers further on the Opal Coast. He does not want to say where he comes from but only where he wants to go: England. A first aborted attempt on the beach did not discourage him. “I want a new life, a better life, that’s why I’m going to England. And my family is already there.” The risk of a shipwreck, like the one the day before, does not seem to worry him. “I know, but there won’t be many people on this boat,” he continues.

“What is dangerous is when there are too many passengers. My boat will only take 42 people and it is a big boat. It is 11 meters long.”

Adel, 25 year old migrant

to franceinfo

Despite the dangers, the deaths and the surveillance of the beaches by the police and the gendarmerie, nearly 30,000 illegal migrants had managed to cross the Channel in 2023, according to the British authorities. There are already 21,000 who have done so since the beginning of the year.