A child was among three people who died and dozens of others who were injured while attempting to cross the Channel on Monday, French authorities have said.
asserted
authorities → die → Monday
France’s maritime police said it received a distress call in the early hours from an inflatable dinghy carrying 105 people that had run into trouble in calm seas.
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that → say → seas
The vessel had reportedly overturned, killing a 10-year-old and two women.
uncertain
vessel → overturn → old
The three passengers were treated on board but were later confirmed dead by an emergency medical team flown out by helicopter.
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passengers → treat → helicopter
The incident happened off the coast of Wissant, a village in northern France’s Pas-de-Calais department.
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incident → happen → department
A spokesperson for the local prefecture confirmed “a provisional total of three deaths and many more injured”, adding that “sea conditions were calm – the weather is good”.
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weather → confirm → deaths
The prefecture described the boat as a “water taxi”, saying it had arrived relatively empty from an inland waterway before picking up passengers from the beach at Wissant.
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it → describe → Wissant
At 10.30am local time – 9.30am, UK time – six rescue boats were still at the scene searching for people in the water.
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boats → search → water
At least 17 people, including women and children, have died in the Channel this year while attempting to reach the UK.
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people → include → UK
Many have drowned, while others have died in incidents involving overcrowded boats.
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others → drown → boats
Three bodies were found last week after chaotic “water taxi” departures of this kind in northern France.
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bodies → find → France
So far this year, 18,609 people have made the Channel crossing – more than 40 per cent fewer than at the same point last year.
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people → make → point
The number is also more than 25 per cent lower than at this stage in 2024, when 25,165 people had crossed the Channel.
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people → cross → Channel
Last week also saw two uncontrolled landings in the UK, where dinghies arrived without being intercepted by authorities.
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dinghies → see → authorities
It comes as more than 80 people, including a baby, are feared to have died while attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands by sea in August.
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people → come → August
On Monday, a rescue boat arrived at the port of Calais in the mid-morning, where it began disembarking people rescued from the accident.
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it → arrive → accident
A coach, fire service and police vehicles were deployed at the scene.
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coach → deploy → scene
The northern beaches of France have become a key crossing point for people without visas hoping to cross the Channel.
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beaches → become → Channel
They pay people smugglers to board unstable rubber dinghies to make the journey across one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
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They → pay → routes
At least 29 people lost their lives last year trying to cross the Channel, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on official French and British sources.
uncertain
people → lose → sources
Official figures cited by the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, show irregular migration to the EU – notably via Mediterranean sea routes – has plummeted since its peak during the 2015 refugee crisis.
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migration → cite → crisis
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will on Monday announce the reopening of a scheme to resettle refugees in the UK as she says “fairness” is at the heart of her vision for the Home Office.
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fairness → announce → Office
It will come as she focuses on safe and legal refugee routes to the UK in her Labour party conference speech.
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she → come → speech
The UK resettlement scheme will reopen immediately, with around a quarter of those admitted to the UK under it expected to be Palestinians and women and girls from Afghanistan.
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quarter → reopen → Afghanistan
UK government sources said officials were aware of the fatalities.
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officials → say → fatalities
The Aporia
