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LONDON — British authorities have confirmed that at least four migrants died after their small boat sank in the English Channel.
British and French authorities launched a coordinated search and rescue operation led by the U.K.’s coastguard after being alerted in the early hours of Wednesday of an incident in the Channel “concerning a small boat in distress,” a U.K. government spokesperson said.
“It is with regret that there have been four confirmed deaths as a result of this incident, investigations are ongoing and we will provide further information in due course,” they added.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the search and rescue operation is “ongoing,” suggesting the number of fatalities could be higher.
“It would be inappropriate for me to go into further detail at this time,” she said. “There is a multi-agency response to this terrible tragedy.”
The incident took place amid freezing temperatures, hours after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a five-point plan to reduce arrivals of undocumented migrants on small boats.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said it was “heartbreaking” that more people had died trying to cross the Channel, while NGOs campaigning for the rights of refugees called on the U.K. government to create more routes for asylum seekers to reach the U.K. safely.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the deaths in the English Channel, which happened nearly a year after a similar incident caused the death of at least 27 migrants, showed “debates about asylum seekers are not about statistics, but precious human lives.”
Source: Politico
