First death of a migrant in the Channel in 2025, a young Syrian

“This is the first death at sea in 2025”on the Franco-British border. A young Syrian migrant died during an attempt to cross the Channel on the night of Friday to Saturday January 11, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“This morning around 4:10 a.m. in Sangatte (Pas-de-Calais) (…)CRS personnel noted the departure of a type boat small boat with around sixty migrants on board »said the prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Guirec Le Bras, interviewed by AFP. “A few minutes later, the group disembarked from the boat soaked (…). On the floor of the boat, a man in his twenties of Syrian nationality was discovered in cardio-respiratory arrest. (…)probably crushed by other migrants »for its part underlined the prefecture.

The victim was aged 19, and his death was pronounced at 5:24 a.m., said the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor. Forensic investigations should be carried out to “determine exactly the causes of death”he added. A man born in Syria, aged 33, was “arrested and placed in police custody”, because he has “was able to organize the departure”still according to the prosecutor.

“This is the first death at sea in 2025” on the Franco-British border, noted the prefecture. According to this same official source, “in 2024, 77 people will have died trying to reach Britain on board a small boat »named after the precarious boats used to cross the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, a record since the start in 2018 of the use of this means of crossing in this area.

Pressure on the British government

The prefecture emphasizes that two people were arrested as part of an investigation opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office and entrusted to the office for combating illicit migrant trafficking. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, only 61 migrants arrived in the UK aboard small boats between the 1^is and January 10, according to figures from the British authorities. In 2024, 36,816 migrants managed to cross the Channel on these boats, or 25% more than in 2023, according to the British Home Office.

This increase increases pressure on Keir Starmer’s Labor government, while the reduction in immigration, both legal and illegal, was one of the major issues of the electoral campaign that brought him to power in July, which also seen the breakthrough of Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party.

According to Downing Street, Channel crossings on small boats was one of the subjects raised by Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting on Thursday evening at Checkers, the country residence of the British prime ministers.