NEUFCHÂTELHARDELOT: A migrant died on Wednesday while attempting to cross the Channel to Britain, French authorities reported, raising the death toll linked to such crossings in overcrowded dinghies to 57 this year.
The incident occurred off the coast of Hardelot in northern France, where the man fell into the sea alongside a dozen others who were also found in the water, according to the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and North Sea. A helicopter transported him to shore, where he was later pronounced dead.
Authorities noted that many migrants attempted to make the crossing overnight due to favorable weather conditions. On Wednesday morning, a deflated blue and black dinghy was spotted on the beach, as reported by an AFP journalist.
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Rescue services, including fire trucks with flashing lights, were deployed along the shoreline. Rescuers escorted around 20 migrants to nearby buildings for warmth. Approximately three kilometers (about two miles) from the coast, journalists observed six drenched migrants sitting on a bench, some wrapped in survival blankets.
A member of the Utopia 56 charity, which assists migrants, indicated that several individuals were suffering from “severe hypothermia” after falling into the water.
As British and French authorities intensify efforts to combat people smuggling gangs, activists warn that traffickers are now forcing larger groups of migrants into increasingly overcrowded and unsafe boats.
