Migrant crisis: Man trying to cross Channel dies in sub-zero conditions after going overboard

January 14, 2022

A manslaughter investigation is under way in France after a migrant died in sub-zero conditions while trying to cross the English Channel.

The Sudanese man was pulled from the water unconscious after going overboard in the early hours of Friday as he and others attempted to reach the UK.

Aged in his 20s, he was declared dead after being taken back to shore by French rescue teams.

A total of 32 people were rescued off Berck, near Calais, suffering from hypothermia, authorities said.

The prosecutor in Boulogne-sur-Mer said a manslaughter investigation has been opened.

The fatality has been reported less than two months after at least 27 people died when their boat sank off the coast of France.

More than 450 people have already made the life-threatening trip in small boats in 2022.

In UK waters on Friday, multiple Border Force vessels were active off the Kent coast.

About 35 people were seen being brought to shore by immigration staff.

On Thursday, at least 271 people aboard 10 small boats reached England.

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Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said there were "no simple answers" to the problem.

He added: "But we urge the government to rethink its plans for making the UK's asylum system harder to access.

"This should start with ambitious plans for new safe routes and a commitment to resettle 10,000 people a year."

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK's refugee and migrant rights director, said the latest death was made "all the more unbearable because of the refusal of governments on both sides of the Channel to address the needs and rights of people compelled to attempt these dangerous journeys".

Home Secretary Priti Patel has called for more co-operation with Europe in an effort to solve the issue.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "This tragic loss of life in France today is devastating and our thoughts are with the victim's family and loved ones.

"It is sadly another reminder of the extreme dangers of crossing the Channel in small boats and of how vital it is that we work closely together with France to prevent people from making these dangerous crossings.

"The government's New Plan for Immigration will fix the broken system to welcome people through safe and legal routes whilst preventing the criminality associated with it."

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