Migrants’ boat capsizes in the English Channel, at least 31 die

A UK Border Force patrol boat carries migrants picked up at sea on arrival at the Marina in Dover, southeast England on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

At least 31 migrants bound for Britain died when their boat sank in the English Channel, in what France's interior minister called the biggest tragedy involving migrants on the dangerous crossing to date. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 34 people were believed to have been on the boat. Authorities Wednesday found 31 bodies - including those of five women and a young girl - and two survivors, he said. One person appeared to still be missing. The nationalities of the travellers were not immediately known.

Ever-increasing numbers of people fleeing conflict or poverty are risking the perilous journey in small, unseaworthy craft from France, hoping to get asylum or better opportunities in Britain. A joint French-British search operation for survivors was still under way late Wednesday. Four suspected traffickers were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of being linked to the sunken boat, Darmanin told reporters in the French port city of Calais. He said two of the suspects later appeared in court. "It's a day of great mourning for France, for Europe, for humanity to see these people die at sea," Darmanin said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson convened a meeting of the government's crisis committee. The French and British governments have long been at odds over how to prevent the crossings, with both sides blaming the other for not doing enough. Johnson urged France to step up efforts to stem the flow of migrants across the English Channel, and said that Wednesday's incident highlighted how efforts by French authorities to patrol their beaches "haven't been enough."

"Our offer is to increase our support but also to work together with our partners on the beaches concerned, on the launching grounds for these boats," Johnson told reporters. "We've had difficulties persuading some of our partners, particularly the French, to do things in a way that we think the situation deserves." French President Emmanuel Macron appealed Thursday to neighbouring European countries to do more to stop illegal migration into France.

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