Channel boat incident: One person has died and two others are missing in the Channel after an incident involving a small boat, French rescue services have said.
According to the Préfecture maritime Manche et mer du Nord, four French-led rescue operations took place in the Channel on Wednesday, coordinated by the regional operational surveillance and rescue of Gris-Nez.
Officials said 179 people trying to cross the Channel were rescued.
A British government spokesperson said on Wednesday: “We can confirm there has been an incident in the Channel involving a small boat in French waters.
“French authorities are leading the response and investigation.”
The Préfecture maritime said the region’s rescue operation was informed of “several boats in difficulty off the coast of the Pas-de-Calais”.
A boat was sighted off the coast at Wissant but on inspection, no signal was given by those on board that it was in difficulty and it continued its journey. A second boat was then found in difficulty and asking for help nearby, and 55 people were taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer.
But by midday, the people on the first boat asked to be rescued and 56 people were helped. Those on board said three people on board had fallen into the sea earlier in the morning. A search operation with a helicopter and boat was launched.
“A first-person was located, unconscious and could not be revived on board,” the local French authorities said. “The person unfortunately died at port. Weather conditions made the search for the two remaining missing people difficult. The prosecutor’s office in Boulogne-sur-Mer has opened an investigation.”
Meanwhile, another small boat was flagged off the coast of Sainte-Cécile and 14 people were rescued. The French authorities said others on board refused the assistance being offered. The risk of forcing people to get on to rescue boats at sea was considered too high by rescue services and the people refusing help remained on board the small boat.
At the same time, another boat was found in difficulty off the Pas-de-Calais coast and 54 people were rescued.
Responding to the news reports, Enver Solomon, the CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “Our thoughts go out to the families of those affected by the tragic loss of life in the English Channel this afternoon and to all those who valiantly answered the distress call.
“This is yet another avoidable human tragedy. Men, women and children from countries such as Afghanistan are risking their lives in the Channel as a direct consequence of safe routes being so limited and ineffective.
“There will be more deaths unless the government rethinks its approach. Instead of the unlawful and costly Rwanda plan, we need a plan to provide sanctuary for those fleeing persecution, violence and torture without having to take dangerous journeys by expanding options for family reunion, introducing refugee visas and putting in place an agreement with the French government to give people a fair hearing and treat them with dignity and humanity.”
A spokesperson for HM Coastguard said: “HM Coastguard is conducting a search and rescue mission relating to an incident earlier today that occurred in the French search and rescue region involving a missing person from a small boat in the English Channel.”
This week, Home Office figures showed that more than 2,000 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the strait between England and France.
The number of arrivals is 32% lower than the total recorded this time last year (2,953) but 49% higher than the total at this stage in 2022 (1,482). 29,437 people arrived in the UK after making the crossing in 2023, down 36% on a record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
The Home Office said there were no new arrivals on Tuesday or Monday this week, but 290 asylum seekers arrived across five boats on Sunday.
