A day after 12 migrants died when a small rubber boat ripped apart during a failed attempt to cross the English Channel, dozens more tried again on Wednesday in a crowded boat from northern France, as French patrol boats watched the boat's struggle across the sea.
The migrants' willingness to risk their lives underscored the scale of the problem for the French and British governments, coming shortly after 12 people were killed trying to cross the busy waterway from France to Britain, the deadliest migrant boat disaster in the English Channel this year.
The mayor of the French coastal city of Wimmerloop, where Associated Press journalists photographed the crowded rubber boats on Wednesday, appealed to French and British authorities to do more to limit the number of migrants attempting the often dangerous journey.
“Unfortunately for us, this is every day like this. Smugglers, criminal gangs, are relentless in sending people to their deaths in the Channel. This is really unacceptable, shameful behaviour. The time has come to find a lasting solution with the UK,” Mayor Jean-Luc Dubaere said by phone.
Migrant boat capsizes in English Channel, 10 dead, others reportedly seriously injured
“Let's ask ourselves: why do they want to go to the UK? Because something is drawing them there,” he said. “They can seek asylum in France, (but) nobody is asking for the right to asylum in France. They all want to go to the UK. So now is the time for us to sit down at the table with the new UK government.”
Cross-Channel immigration was a major focus of the UK general election in July, which the Labour Party won in a landslide victory and its leader, Keir Starmer, became the new prime minister.
Guirec Le Bras, the French prosecutor investigating Tuesday's sinking, said 10 of the 12 dead were women and six of the victims were minors. Many were believed to be Eritrean, he said. The rubber boat sank about three miles off the French coast, he said. Maritime authorities said many of those on board were not wearing life jackets.
Fishermen who retrieved some of the dead said they were moved to tears.
“The bodies of the two women were so young. It broke my heart. I cried all day. I couldn't stop crying,” said Samba Si Ndiaye, 53, who works on the Murex, one of two fishing boats helping the French rescue effort.
Another crew member, Axel Bahue, said he found a mobile phone in a waterproof pouch around the neck of the young woman's body – estimated to be between 15 and 20 years old – and that as they pulled her out of the water and were checking her pulse, the phone started ringing.
“It was tough because I knew very well that no one would answer,” Baheu said.
His father, Jean-Marie Baeu, said he saw another heavily laden migrant boat set off in front of his house on Wednesday.
“When the weather is good and there's no wind, we have departures every day,” he says. “At first it was around 20 or 30 people, but now it's at least 70 or 80.”
A boat believed to be carrying migrants is escorted by a French Gendarmerie vessel off the coast of Vimereu, France, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Authorities said a boat carrying migrants ripped apart in the English Channel on Tuesday while trying to travel from northern France to Britain, causing dozens of people to fall into the treacherous waterway and killing 12. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)
French maritime authorities confirmed that the rubber boat spotted and photographed by The Associated Press on Wednesday was carrying migrants. AP journalists estimated there were between 40 and 50 people on board.
Many were wearing life jackets. At one point, a patrol boat flying the French flag approached the dinghy and its crew tossed about six more life jackets to the migrants.
The grey waters of the English Channel were relatively calm, with small waves lapping on the shore as people walked their dogs on the sand.
And yet the inflatable boat appeared to be moving slowly forward, even as journalists filmed for more than two hours, with patrol boats circling it and a larger vessel clearly visible from shore following it from a distance.
French maritime authorities in the area said they were keeping an eye on the boat in case it ran into trouble or those on board requested assistance.
In a statement to The Associated Press, the agency said maritime law bans the use of makeshift rubber boats at sea, but that forcing the boat back to shore was too dangerous when it was so heavily loaded.
“It is difficult to carry out a rescue operation with more than 50 passengers violently refusing to be rescued. The main risk is passengers running wild and then capsizing, but these vessels are neither stable nor reliable. The risk of loss of life is too high for emergency intervention, so the choice has been made to prioritise the protection of passengers and to remotely monitor the seagoing ability of these vessels,” the statement said.
“So this is more a question of ethics than a blind application of the law,” he added.
At least 21,720 migrants have crossed the English Channel so far this year, 3% more than the same period last year but 19% lower than the same period in 2022, according to British government figures.
The boat wreck on Tuesday, throwing 65 people overboard, was one of several attempts made that day. British authorities said at least 317 migrants had successfully made the crossing on five boats.
One of the first immediate measures taken by the new British government was to reverse plans by the previous Conservative government to send some migrants arriving on small boats to Rwanda rather than allow them to apply for asylum in the UK, a plan criticised by human rights groups.
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Mr Starmer has called the plans a “gimmick” and will not act as a deterrent, and instead his government has decided to use some of the money saved by cancelling the plans to set up stronger border forces to “crush” criminal gangs entering the country on small boats.
