At least 31 have died in Channel crossings this year as latest incident reported

At least 31 people have now died crossing the Channel in 2024, with today’s disaster raising the death toll by a dozen.

On Tuesday, 12 migrants died after their boat ripped apart trying to cross the English Channel, the French authorities said.

Up to 65 people were reportedly rescued in a search operation off the coast of Wimereux.

There have been 19 other Channel deaths reported by the French maritime prefecture for the English Channel and the North Sea this year.

A boat got into trouble off the coast of Calais in the foggy morning of August 11 and two people died, it said.

People had fallen in the water, several sustained petrol burns, but 53 were rescued, the authorities reported.

Deadly

In July, seven people died in four incidents.

The deadliest day was July 12 – at around 4.30am reports came in that a tube of a nearby migrant boat had deflated and several people were in the water, French authorities said.

They added people were adrift in the water and some were clinging to the tube of the boat.

Four people died that day and 56 were rescued.

Single deaths were reported in the Channel on July 17, 19 and 28.

On April 23, near Wimereux, a boat estimated to be carrying more than 100 people got into trouble after passing a sandbank shortly before 6.30am, French authorities said.

A total of five people died – including three men, a woman, and a girl – in the incident that took place just a few hundred metres from the beach, they added.

On January 14, five people died in an attempt to cross from France near the same Wimereux area on the French coast.

The incident happened at about 2am and triggered a major emergency response as 32 people were rescued and taken to Calais, French authorities said.

French media said the migrants had got into difficulty on the French coast while trying to board the boat in darkness and cold temperatures.

Rescue teams had discovered unconscious people in the water and on the rocks along the coast.