Man Dies After Illegal Immigrant Boat Deflates in English Channel

French police pass a deflated dinghy on the beach in Wimereux near Calais, France, on Nov. 18, 2021. Gareth Fuller/PA

A man has died after a boat carrying illegal immigrants trying to get to the UK deflated in the English Channel off the French coast.

French authorities said the boat had departed from the town of Tardinghen in northern France at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, but quickly deflated, forcing those aboard to swim back to shore.

Emergency services attempted to help the man, who was Indian and in his 40s, but he died at the scene.

Authorities also said police and gendarmes had stopped several attempts of asylum seekers trying to make the journey, including in Calais, Sangatte, and Equihen-Plage.

Recent Fatalities

The fatality occurred less than a week after three people died in similar circumstances.

French authorities had launched a rescue operation after a boat sank in the English Channel on Oct. 23, rescuing 48 people in the water. Two unconscious people were brought on board the Minck ship, but they were later confirmed dead. A ferry had picked up a third person, but they were later declared dead in a hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

October has seen other fatalities during attempts to cross the English Channel, including a baby who died on Oct. 17 after the boat the infant was in got into difficulty off the coast of France.

That death occurred less than two weeks after another very young child—a 2-year-old boy—died after a boat overloaded with 90 people suffered engine failure. French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said the boy had been “trampled to death.”

Channel Crossings Top Last Year’s Arrivals

The latest fatality comes after it was revealed more people had arrived in the UK since January of this year than in the whole of 2023.

Some 29,867 illegal immigrants crossed the English Channel so far—up on last year’s annual total of 29,437.

However, this figure is still lower than the 38,129 who had arrived by this time in 2022.

Since Labour formed a government, it has established a multi-agency Border Security Command which aims to tackle illegal immigration facilitated by people smuggling gangs.

On Oct. 4, the UK and other G7 nations agreed to the Anti-Smuggling Action Plan, which would include joint investigations and intelligence-sharing to combat transnational organised immigration crime.

The Home Office said the international partnership will enhance the government’s strategy to disrupt people smuggling operations upstream, such as by interrupting routes in transit countries.

“Criminal smuggling gangs who organise small boat crossings undermine our border security and put lives at risk. Our new government is rapidly accelerating cooperation with other countries to crack down on these dangerous gangs,” Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had said.

PA Media contributed to this report.