A body was recovered this Thursday on the beach in Calais, noted an AFP correspondent on site, in a context of recurring fatal shipwrecks during illegal migratory crossings of the Channel in recent weeks. This brings to twelve the number of bodies discovered at sea or on the coast of Pas-de-Calais since October 30, according to an AFP count based on official sources.
This is the third body found this week on the coast, two having been found on Tuesday on the beaches of Sangatte and Wissant.
The body found in Calais was quickly placed out of sight and covered with a white cover, noted the AFP correspondent. Being in an advanced state of decomposition, he “visibly spent several days in the water“, declared sub-prefect Agathe Cury, present on site with the police.
On October 23, the sinking of a boat overloaded with migrants trying to reach England officially left three dead, but also an uncertain and potentially high number of missing people. Migrant aid associations in Calaisis have mentioned around ten people missing after this shipwreck, an estimate not confirmed by the authorities for the moment, due to lack of knowing the exact number of passengers who were on board at the time of the tragedy.
At least 60 migrants have died in the Channel since January 1, not including those who have disappeared since last month.
This is the deadliest death toll since the start in 2018 of these clandestine crossings aboard makeshift boats nicknamed “small boats”, inflatable boats that smugglers overload with passengers, often without life jackets.
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