The French coastguard has confirmed that five people, including a child, have died attempting to cross the English Channel on Tuesday morning
A child is among at least five migrants who have died in an attempt to cross the English Channel, just hours after Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda bill was passed by Parliament.
The victims were among more than 110 people who were on a small boat which capsized on hitting a sandbank after setting off from a beach in the town of Wimereux in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.
The five who died included three men, a woman and a child, a spokesperson for the French coastguard said. Local newspaper La Semaine dans le Boulonnais reported that the child was a girl aged four.
The boat capsized during “mass panic” onboard after the small vessel hit a sandbank, said one refugee charity worker, who witnessed the return of some of the migrants.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The tragedy took place during a “busy” morning for emergency services in the town, located 20 miles south of Calais, with the mild weather conditions reportedly making crossing attempts favourable.
The deaths came shortly after the government’s controversial Rwanda bill was passed, with the legislation set to see asylum seekers flown to the African country to have their claims processed.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Rwanda scheme will “deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings” and break the business model of the criminal gangs organising the boats.
Charter planes are expected to leave for Rwanda in 10-12 weeks, with Mr Sunak promising “multiple flights a month”, although minsters conceded numbers being sent to Kigali will be small at first.
On the BBC, Illegal Migration Minister Mr Tomlinson took part in an uncomfortable interview by Ms Husain, as he refused her request to give details of the flights claiming it would help those trying to wreck the plans.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We remain committed to building on the successes that saw arrivals drop by more than a third last year, including tougher legislation and agreements with international partners, in order to save lives and stop the boats.”
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