Two new bodies discovered on beaches in Pas-de-Calais: “the link with the recent shipwrecks of migrants is a hypothesis”

Two new bodies were discovered this Tuesday, November 12, 2024 on the beaches of Sangatte and Wissant in Pas-de-Calais (Hauts-de-France), the Boulogne prosecutor told AFP this Wednesday. Two investigations were opened as a result, one by the Sangatte police, the other by the Wissant gendarmerie. According to the prosecutor, the link between these two cases and the recent shipwrecks of migrants is not currently a certainty, but a “working hypothesis”.

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A body discovered on a Calais beach and two others offshore, investigations open

60 migrants have died in the Channel since January 1

Between the end of October and the beginning of November, 9 bodies were found in the Channel or on the coast, according to a count made by AFP from official sources. One of these shipwrecks, on October 23, officially left three dead, but also an uncertain number of missing. Migrant aid associations in Calais mention around ten people missing after this shipwreck, a figure that the prosecutor cannot confirm due to lack of an “exact accounting of the number of passengers” who were on board.

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Shipwreck in Pas-de-Calais: around ten migrants died during a crossing and two disappeared

Since January 1, at least 60 migrants have died in the Channel. This is the deadliest death toll since 2018, when these clandestine crossings aboard makeshift boats began.