Failed migrant small boat crossings in the English Channel have left five people dead in the past 10 days. Most recently, two died when attempting the perilous journey. The duo fell unconscious and, along with 10 others needing assistance, were removed from the boat by the French authorities. Having left shore from Gravelines, near Calais in northern France, the boat and around 70 remaining passengers were allowed to continue.
This follows an incident on Monday, May 19th, where one died and 62 people ended up in the water after their boat broke up, necessitating a major rescue effort.
The fatalities reflect the ongoing failure of the French and British authorities to get to grips with the problem or, in British PM Keir Starmer’s words, ‘smash the gangs.’
The issue of illegal boat crossings dramatises the way that current mass immigration numbers—net migration of 430,000 in 2024, under Conservative and Labour governments—would be equivalent to adding a city the size of Bristol to the country every single year, according to commentator Matt Goodwin.
