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A lifeboat from the British sea rescue organization RNLI with rescued refugees on December 9th in Dungeness, southern England
Photo: BEN STANSALL / AFP
According to British media reports, several people died in another boat accident in the English Channel.
According to information from Sky News, there were around 30 to 50 migrants on the boat that got into distress in the early hours of the morning, some of whom are said not to have survived, as the broadcaster reported, citing a French source.
The Telegraph reported at least three suspected deaths.
This was also reported by Sky News.
There was no official confirmation of the deaths at first.
British radio station LBC reported that 43 people were rescued.
The Coast Guard, together with the military, police and border guards, coordinated a search and rescue mission on Wednesday that involved at least two helicopters and British and French lifeboats.
It was initially unclear what exactly happened to the boat that crashed.
The operation took place off the coast of the county of Kent in south-east England.
Search for survivors apparently over
The search for missing people will continue for the rest of the day, Sky News reported, citing inside sources.
However, due to the low temperatures - in the past few nights they have fallen to below zero in the region - the search for survivors is no longer being carried out.
A year ago, 27 people died in a boat accident in the English Channel.
Most recently, many thousands of migrants made the dangerous crossing towards the United Kingdom.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak only published plans on Tuesday to take tougher action against illegal migration.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, known for her radical stance on migration, wrote on Twitter that her thoughts are with everyone affected.
You will be kept informed about the "shattering incident" and the authorities are in the process of clarifying the situation.
Conservative MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, also tweeted: "I am very saddened to hear of the loss of life in a tragedy involving a small boat in the English Channel this morning," she wrote.
Since the beginning of the year, almost 45,000 migrants have made the dangerous crossing from France to England across the English Channel.
Last year there were about 30,000.
col/dpa/AFP/Reuters
