A migrant died Thursday while trying to reach England aboard a boat loaded with 36 exiles, wrecked off Dunkirk, while since the beginning of the summer, the migratory traffic in the Channel has never been also intense.
To read also: Migrants: in Calais, the tireless nocturnal ballet of "small boats" to England
This is the first migrant to die in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais in 2021. In 2020, six people were killed and three missing, after four dead in 2019. The victim was hoisted
“unconscious” "
During the rescue operation, carried out Thursday morning, said the Dunkirk prosecutor's office, which opened an investigation for manslaughter, endangering the lives of others and assistance with illegal entry and stay.
According to the prosecution, it is a man of 25 to 30 years, of African origin.
According to passenger testimonies collected by the association of aid to migrants Utopia 56, he is Eritrean.
According to these testimonies,
"the engine stopped, the boat began to sink, five men then jumped into the water, they threw all their belongings,"
Nikolai Posner, Utopia 56 told AFP. , present when the survivors arrive at the port.
"Sinking"
According to the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea, the alert was given around 10:00 am to the Gris-Nez regional operational surveillance and rescue center (Cross). A freighter had reported a boat in difficulty, with
"some people in the sea"
, about 24 km from the French coast. A Belgian Air Force helicopter arrived on the scene indicated that the boat was
"in the process of sinking"
.
Several of the castaways were towed by the helicopter to board the Flamant, a patrol vessel of the French Navy, and fishing vessels. The deceased man is first recovered by a lifeboat from the cargo ship, Elena, before his evacuation to Calais hospital, where he died according to the prosecution.
“All the
remaining
castaways”
were recovered and disembarked at the port of Dunkirk where they were taken care of by the departmental fire and rescue service and the border police, according to the maritime prefecture.
This tragedy took place against the backdrop of the soaring number of exiles attempting the crossing: "we are already above last year in six months, this gives an idea of the importance of the phenomenon which is constantly growing" , indicated to AFP at the beginning of August the maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea, Philippe Dutrieux. On Thursday, a total of 164 migrants trying to reach England on several separate boats were rescued in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, the maritime prefecture told AFP. In 2020, more than 9,500 crossings or attempted crossings of this type had been recorded, already four times more than in 2019, according to a report from the French maritime prefecture. On August 5, the British Home Office announced a record figure ofarriving on the English coast in 24 hours, at least 482 migrants.