FRANCE: Five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France on Tuesday, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.
The migrants, including a 7-year-old girl, died when their boat got stuck on a sandbank off the coast of Pas-de-Calais in northern France.The French navy rescued 49 people, but 58 others refused to disembark and continued on toward Britain, local authorities said in a statement. The boat had left from Wimereux, about 32 km southwest of Calais.
The attempts to cross the Channel took place hours after Britain’s parliament passed legislation that will allow the government to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda rather than stay in Britain for processing.
Stopping the flow of migrants is a priority for British PM Rishi Sunak‘s govt, which says the Rwanda plan will act as a deterrent. Human rights groups and other critics say it is inhumane. “These tragedies have to stop,” Britain’s interior minister James Cleverly said of the latest migrant deaths at sea. Sunak, speaking after the bill passed in parliament, said the focus was now on getting flights to Rwanda off the ground. The bill is expected to receive Royal Assent this week, meaning it has passed into law, and Sunak has said he expects flights to depart within 10 to 12 weeks. “I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives,” he said.
Asylum seekers – many fleeing wars and poverty in Africa, West Asia and Asia – started arriving in small boats on the English coast in 2018.
More than 6,000 have arrived in Britain already this year, a rise of around a quarter on the same period last year. The worst incident came in Nov 2021 when 27 migrants perished when their dinghy capsized near Calais. The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats dangerous.
The migrants, including a 7-year-old girl, died when their boat got stuck on a sandbank off the coast of Pas-de-Calais in northern France.The French navy rescued 49 people, but 58 others refused to disembark and continued on toward Britain, local authorities said in a statement. The boat had left from Wimereux, about 32 km southwest of Calais.
The attempts to cross the Channel took place hours after Britain’s parliament passed legislation that will allow the government to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda rather than stay in Britain for processing.
Stopping the flow of migrants is a priority for British PM Rishi Sunak‘s govt, which says the Rwanda plan will act as a deterrent. Human rights groups and other critics say it is inhumane. “These tragedies have to stop,” Britain’s interior minister James Cleverly said of the latest migrant deaths at sea. Sunak, speaking after the bill passed in parliament, said the focus was now on getting flights to Rwanda off the ground. The bill is expected to receive Royal Assent this week, meaning it has passed into law, and Sunak has said he expects flights to depart within 10 to 12 weeks. “I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives,” he said.
Asylum seekers – many fleeing wars and poverty in Africa, West Asia and Asia – started arriving in small boats on the English coast in 2018.
More than 6,000 have arrived in Britain already this year, a rise of around a quarter on the same period last year. The worst incident came in Nov 2021 when 27 migrants perished when their dinghy capsized near Calais. The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats dangerous.