The mayor of a French coastal town being used in a rescue operation says 13 migrants are dead after their boat ripped apart Tuesday during an attempted crossing of the English Channel.
Dozens of people plunged into the treacherous waters of the busy channel.
“Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open,” said Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel near the fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where a first aid post was set up to treat victims. “It’s a big drama.”
He said 13 migrants were killed, a toll confirmed by a maritime rescue official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the operation.
“If people don’t know how to swim in the agitated waters … it can go very quickly,” the mayor said.
A ‘terrible shipwreck’
The officials said rescuers recovered 61 people from the waters. The prefecture said the boat got into difficulty off Gris-Nez point between Boulogne-sur-Mer and the port of Calais farther north.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he was heading to the scene of what he described as the “terrible shipwreck.” He said 12 people died, differing slightly from Barbarin’s figure, and two were missing, noting that the count was provisional.
Sea temperatures off northern France were around 20 C.
At least 30 migrants have died or gone missing while trying to cross to the U.K. this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.
At least 2,109 migrants have tried to cross the English Channel on small boats in the past seven days, according to U.K. Home Office data updated Tuesday. The data includes people found in the channel or on arrival. Tens of thousands have made the trip since 2018.
