news

reference news reported on september 16 according to a report by singapore's lianhe zaobao website on september 16, citing afp, french authorities said that an overloaded smuggling boat capsized in the early morning of the 15th while trying to cross the english channel from france to britain, killing eight people. this is less than two weeks after the deadliest such disaster this year.

a police source said the accident occurred shortly after the boat set out.

french maritime authorities said on the 14th that in recent days, migrants have attempted to cross the english channel in small boats many times, and 200 people were rescued on the 13th and 14th alone.

the report said that for many years, many migrants have paid human traffickers thousands of euros to travel from france to britain on small boats, and the british and french governments have been trying to stop this activity.

earlier this month, 12 migrants, most of them from eritrea, died off the northern french coast when their boat capsized, the deadliest accident in the english channel this year and bringing the total number of deaths to 37 this year, up from 12 last year.

british officials say more than 22,000 migrants have crossed the english channel to england since the beginning of the year.

british prime minister starmer and french president emmanuel macron pledged this summer to step up cooperation to tackle a surge in undocumented immigration.

the report pointed out that crossing the english channel is often dangerous. in november 2021, 27 migrants died when their boat capsized, which was the deadliest disaster so far.

french authorities try to stop migrants from entering the water but once their boats are underway they do not intervene unless for rescue purposes, citing safety concerns.