Man dies in Channel during second migrant disaster in 24 hours

A man has died while trying to reach the UK in a small boat, in the second Channel disaster in 24 hours.

The man, who was in his twenties and a Sudanese national, went into cardiac arrest, aid workers on the ground told i.

The death occured after French riot police were involved in scuffles with men and women escaping a sinking craft at Sangatte beach, in Calais.

The French coastguard said that the event “occured on the beach” rather than in the water.

The body said that this meant they did not have primacy for the response, which was led instead by the land authorities.

It comes after a woman died and two people went missing when a boat deflated around 8km from the French coast, at midnight on Friday.

The French Coastguard said there were more than sixty people on board the boat.

A search operation is continuing by air and sea.

The French authorities indicated they were bracing for further possible disasters, saying that “other surveillance and rescue operations are underway across the entire coastline”, particularly given the “favourable” weather conditions for crossing attempts.

British Home Secretary James Cleverly said the incident was a “horrific reminder of the people smugglers’ brutality” and admitted that the Government “must and will do more.”

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Government minister Andrew Griffith said the incident showed why the crossing was “not a safe route” and why Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “cracking down on the terrible trade of people traffickers”.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Griffith said: “Well, we are just hearing it now, but all of these are tragic stories. It shows once again the importance of cracking down on the terrible trade of people traffickers in the Channel.

“It is not a safe route, it is not a safe crossing. People shouldn’t need to do that.

“It is why it is really important that the Government is taking action through things like the Illegal Migration Bill (sic), through the proposals around Rwanda that we debated in Parliament earlier this year, to absolutely remove the incentive, break the economic model of people smugglers, so that we can stop this terrible trade.”

The crossing was the first to be attempted in 11 days after windy weather in the Channel halted other attempts.

French authorities confirmed two people died in a similar incident off the coast of France last month.

More than 700 people made the crossing in the first three days of December, when the waters were calmer.

This year is the second highest on record for small boat crossings. More than 29,000 people have made the journey across the Channel, surpassing the total of 28,526 in 2021.

Mr Sunak is pushing ahead with efforts to “stop the boats”.

He won a crunch vote in the Commons on his emergency legislation aimed at reviving his Rwanda scheme, a flagship element of his pledge to end small boat crossings, on Tuesday.