(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
27 Migrants Drown Trying to Go From France to U.K. by Boat [1]
['Aurelien Breeden', 'Constant Méheut', 'Norimitsu Onishi']
Date: 2021-11-24
PARIS — At least 27 people drowned in frigid waters off the coast of France on Wednesday, after a boat carrying migrants trying to reach Britain capsized in the English Channel, one of the worst death tolls in recent years for migrants attempting the dangerous crossing.
Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said that the dead, including five women and a little girl, were part of a group whose “extremely fragile” inflatable boat was found completely deflated by rescuers. French officials had previously given a death toll of 31, but later revised the figure.
Two people were rescued but were hospitalized with severe hypothermia. It was still unclear where the migrants were from, Mr. Darmanin told reporters from Calais.
“It’s an absolute tragedy that fills us with anger,” he said.
The drownings came only a few days after French and British authorities reached an agreement to do more to stem the number of people taking to the sea. They were also a stark reminder that five years after authorities dismantled a sprawling migrant camp in Calais, both countries are still struggling to handle the flow of migrants in the area.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/24/world/europe/migrants-boat-capsize-calais.html?searchResultPosition=4
Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/
