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CHANNEL DISASTER
Six people dead after migrant boat sinks in the English Channel with others missing as urgent rescue mission is launched
AT least six men died when a small boat packed with up to 66 migrants capsized in the Channel early this morning.
Those on board were seen frantically using their shoes to try to scoop out water from the sinking vessel.
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And when the first rescuers arrived some were in the water screaming for help.
The boat had been spotted at 4am off Calais by a French navy ship.
Five French ships, two British ships, and a helicopter were scrambled.
One RNLI boat already had migrants on board from another rescue when it was called to help.
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More than 20 of those pulled from the water were taken to Dover and some were brought ashore on stretchers.
Five of the migrants from Afghanistan died at sea, and the sixth - an Afghan man in his twenties - was airlifted to hospital in Calais where they tragically passed away.
At least two migrants were reported missing while 51 were safely returned to shore.
Anne Thorel, a volunteer on one of the rescue boats, said: “The people sinking were bailing out with their shoes.”
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It is understood those who died were Afghan men in their 20s and 30s.
Boulogne prosecutor Philippe Sabatier added: “The vast majority of those involved were also from Afghanistan. They included minors.”
The boat was part of a small flotilla launched in the early hours when conditions were calm.
A total of 500 migrants are known to have made it across as the weather worsened.
This week the milestone of 100,000 migrants completing the perilous 23-mile journey since 2018 was passed.
About 16,000 have arrived this year.
Tory MP for Dover, Natalie Elphicke, said: “These overcrowded and unseaworthy deathtraps should obviously be stopped by the French authorities from leaving the French coast in the first place.
“The time has come for joint patrols on the French coast and a cross-Channel security zone before any more lives are lost.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who convened an urgent meeting of the Small Boats Operational Command Gold, was kept updated throughout the day.
She said: “My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic loss of life.”
Ministers last night insisted they would carry on with efforts to smash organised crime gangs intent on bringing migrants to the UK.
A government spokesperson said: “These deaths are devastating.
“This incident is sadly another reminder of the extreme dangers of crossing the Channel in small boats and how vital it is that we break the people smugglers’ business model and stop the boats.”
Authorities in Boulogne opened a judicial investigation into the tragedy.
The cause of the sinking was not clear, but it is likely to focus on the condition of the boat and how many were in it.
French PM Elisabeth Borne said Maritime Minister Herve Berville had been sent to Calais.
The incident is the deadliest in the Channel since 31 migrants drowned when their boat capsized in November 2021.
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Four migrants died in December 2022 after their boat sank in icy waters.
The Sun has approached the Home Office for comment.
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