Britain | At least four people have died after a migrant boat got into trouble at sea in the English Channel

At least four people have died when a migrant boat on its way to Britain got into trouble early Wednesday morning in the English Channel. The news agencies Reuters and AFP, a British newspaper, report on the matter, among others The Guardian and the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC.

According to the media, the sources of the British government said earlier that 43 people had been saved in an extensive operation, which involved several rescue boats and helicopters. Of those rescued, more than 30 had to rely on water.

An extensive rescue operation was launched from the incident. On Wednesday afternoon, the search to find possible people who were trapped in the water was still ongoing. According to The Guardian, the death toll is believed to rise.

BBC says that the fishing vessel had noticed a small rubber boat sinking in the waters between Kent, England and the French coast after three in the morning local time, i.e. after five in the morning Finnish time. The crew of the fishing vessel had managed to save 31 people.

In the video footage taken from the rescue situation obtained by the BBC, it can be seen how people packed into a sinking rubber boat are pulled up onto the boat with the help of ropes. The video also shows helicopter lights and rescue workers descending from the helicopters.

The video footage taken from the rescue situation shows that some of the people in the rubber boat are dressed only in t-shirts and thin life vests.

The outdoor temperature in Kent dropped to one degree on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. The sea was probably even colder.

Britain’s the government has tried to tighten the admission requirements.

The latest accident happened just a day after the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new agreement with Albania which is hoped to reduce the number of boats trying to cross the channel. More than a third of the people who have crossed the Channel to Britain this year have been Albanians.

According to the agreement, Albanians arriving in Britain by boat across the Channel will be immediately returned to their homeland.

Sunak has named the reduction of migrant boats trying to cross the English Channel as one of the central goals of his prime ministership. On Wednesday, he expressed his condolences for the latest accident.

The opposition and refugee organizations have criticized the British government for not offering enough safe ways for asylum seekers to apply for asylum.

Refugee Action said on Wednesday that the deaths from the latest accident were “predictable and avoidable”.

A year During 2022, more than 43,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats. This is the largest number of people since 2018, when statistics began to be collected. The increased number of migrants has increased tensions between Britain and France.

According to Reuters, since last weekend alone, more than 500 people have traveled across the channel in small boats. In the last few days, sea traffic and winds have weakened in the channel, which has made smugglers seize the opportunity.

Most of the boats are horse-drawn inflatable rubber boats, some of which don’t even have a solid bottom.