Two Deaths in Failed English Channel Crossing Attempt

Fatal Channel Crossing Incident

• ⚠️ Two people have died overnight while attempting to cross the English Channel, according to French authorities.
• 🎯 Approximately 100 people were attempting the journey in a makeshift boat, with the incident occurring just south of the beaches of New Chhatel, Ardelo.
• 🆘 Sixty people were rescued and are being cared for by civil protection authorities in a nearby town.
• 🏥 A couple and their child suffering from moderate hypothermia were taken to a hospital in Boulogne.

Migrant Crossings and Policy

• 📈 This incident brings the total number of channel crossing deaths to at least 25 this year.
• ✈️ Since January, at least 31,000 migrants have arrived in Britain by crossing the channel in small boats.
• 🤝 Recent arrangements between France and the UK allow the UK to return migrants who pass through a safe country and are deemed ineligible for asylum.
• 🚫 The UK Home Secretary described these crossings as "entirely unacceptable" and highlighted that people smugglers are wreaking havoc on borders.
• ⚖️ The Prime Minister has stated that tackling migration, particularly small boat crossings, is a real challenge.
• 🌍 Previous schemes, like deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda, were noted as not being a deterrent, deporting less than 1% of small boat arrivals.