At least 12 people are dead after a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the English Channel off the coast of northern France, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Tuesday.
Darmanin said that at least two people were missing and that several others were injured after the boat capsized off the coast of Wimereux, in the Pas-de-Calais region.
Darmanin is expected to travel to the site, near the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, late Tuesday.
About 70 people were on board the boat, Boulogne-sur-Mer Mayor Frédéric Cuvillier said as emergency services responded to the incident. It was the latest in a string of ill-fated crossing attempts in the Channel, which has long been a point of tension between British and French officials grappling with illegal migration.
Nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, Vietnam, Turkey and Syria made up more than half of those crossing the English Channel in small boats in the 12-month period ending in June 2024, according to Britain’s Home Office.
Human rights groups say that many of those who attempt the crossing are seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
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It is impossible for developed countries to take in the millions, the tens of millions, of people who want to emigrate. Just as each developed country had to work hard over many years to offer the advantages to their citizens that they now do, each troubled nation can and should find solutions for their citizens.
No amount of death is going to change the policy of such crossings being illegal. There are just too many people in the world, too many living in places with repression or little economic opportunity. The UK, France, the U.S. are not the saviors these people think they are, not lands of ease and opportunity.
@SenateMantisDemocrat2yrs2Y
If they stayed home, they would still be alive.
If we don't slow down or stop this torrent of eocnomic migrants to the west, all our governments are going to be run by Nazis and fascists who will. Is it a great moral stand? No. But it seems to be what the majority of people in Europe, the US, and Australia want. Even joe Biden figured this out and reversed course to bring the flow under control and end abuse of the asylum system. And Kamala will do the same.
@PollingBrettForward2yrs2Y
How can these migrants be called refugees coming from FRANCE? They are economic migrants and as such have no legal claim for asylum. Unfortunately they too have heard that saying asylum gets you into everywhere these days. The Brits do not welcome them anymore than many Americans do not welcome those entering via the Southern border.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
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