FALCON POWERS – Four migrants drowned while trying trying to cross the English Channel to reach the British coast from northern France, the French maritime authority said on Friday.
The shipwreck was detected around 4:30 a.m. off Boulogne-sur-Mer on France’s northern coast.
A part of the boat in which the migrants were traveling had deflated, pushing several people in the freezing and rough waters when it was located by a patrol vessel in the canal.
Sixty-three people were rescued in an operation conducted with the help of a fishing boat, two rescue vessels, and a helicopter.
But four lost their lives, the maritime authority said.
According to the authority, the maritime route is one of the busiest in the world, with over 600 commercial vessels passing through each day.
The weather conditions are often challenging, with an average of 120 days per year experiencing winds of force 7 or higher. This makes it a particularly dangerous area, even when the sea appears calm.
On April 23, five people died off the French coast while trying to reach the United Kingdom. The deaths bring the total number of fatalities on the perilous crossing from France to Britain this year to nearly 20.
Two days ago, the maritime prefecture rescued 126 people attempting the dangerous crossing.
Last year, 29,437 people arrived on British soil after illegally crossing the English Channel, which is 36 percent less than the record 45,774 in 2022, according to official British data. EFE
