Eight migrants died on the night of Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 September, during a new attempt to cross the Channel. More than 200 people were rescued in a single day.
The death toll of migrants attempting to cross the Channel rose again this weekend of September 14 and 15. Eight people died in a shipwreck in the Ambleteuse area (Pas-de-Calais), while a similar tragedy left 12 dead off Wimereux in early September.
Six other people were rushed to hospital and an investigation was opened on Sunday.
“A very significant pressure”
However, “despite these terrible events”, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais notes that “there are still many migrants taking to the sea as soon as the weather windows become favourable”.
“The pressure is therefore very high in the North, Pas-de-Calais and Somme,” indicated the prefect of Pas-de-Calais Jacques Billant during a press briefing this Sunday.
Attempts have continued to multiply in recent times. On Saturday, eight attempted crossings were prevented by security forces and, in total, more than 200 migrants rescued at sea.
“We know that the highest number of attempts take place during the months of July, August and also September,” the prefect explained.
The concern of the Prefect of Pas-de-Calais and the associations
The Prefect of Pas-de-Calais also points out that the weather conditions to come will become “increasingly unfavourable” as autumn and winter approach. “We can already see that going to sea is extremely dangerous, it will become really very perilous in the coming days and weeks,” he worries.
Yann Manzi, co-founder and general delegate of the Utopia 56 association, shares the same observation. “We are at the end of a summer with weather that is going to get worse,” he says on BFMTV.
“All the people who tried and were hindered, who did not manage to get through, will try again in the coming days and weeks and take even more risks,” continues Yann Manzi.
“The tragedies that we see here will continue as long as there is no safe route. If we really want to save lives, we have to open ferries, otherwise these tragedies will continue and the deaths will continue to be counted,” assures Yann Manzi.
“Smugglers are putting migrants at increasing risk”
The Ambleteuse tragedy comes twelve days after the Wimereux tragedy, in which twelve people lost their lives off Cap Gris-Nez. In total, 46 migrants have died since the beginning of the year while trying to reach the United Kingdom.
This is already the deadliest year since the beginning of the phenomenon of attempted crossings. Faced with this observation, the prefect points the finger at the role of smugglers who take shipwrecked people into increasingly dangerous conditions.
“For the sake of profit, people smugglers are increasingly exposing the people to whom they sell crossings across a dangerous sea on totally unsuitable boats,” notes Jacques Billant.
He continued: “It is literally leading them to their death (…) The boats are overloaded, of poor quality, under-inflated. They have no floor, this was still the case this morning. They are under-powered and there are no life jackets for all the occupants”. Only one person in six was equipped with a life jacket when the Ambleteuse sank.
The Prefect of Pas-de-Calais has announced a 15% increase in the number of arrests of smugglers compared to 2023. In total, 238 were arrested in flagrante delicto, including 10 between September 12 and 15.
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