Migrant boat in archive photo (Ansa)

  • Channel, 340 migrants headed for England saved

  • France, stop the sale of canoes to stop migrants

  • Frontex data: arrivals + 70% in Europe and + 91% in the central Mediterranean

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24 November 2021 According to "police sources" cited by BFM TV, 27 people have died in the sinking of a migrant boat extending to Calais, on the English Channel. The French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, speaks of "a tragedy".



The boat the migrants were on had left with the intention of reaching Great Britain but capsized.



While Prime Minister Castex speaks of "tragedy", Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, expected on the spot, denounces "the criminal character of the passers-by who organize these crossings".



The maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea has specified that a rescue operation is still underway to find other people who may still be at sea. Two helicopters, a National Navy patrol boat, a coastguard lookout and lifeboats are also deployed.



In recent months, the situation of migrants on the French coast, waiting to move to Great Britain, has worsened day by day, with a significant increase in attempts to cross the Channel, often desperate.



The sporting goods chain, Decathlon, has banned the sale of canoes in the area after some migrants attempted to reach the British coast with those makeshift vehicles.

Last Saturday, 243 migrants attempting to reach England were rescued off Calais.