On 24 November 2021, an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants from France to the United Kingdom capsized in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

causing the deaths of 27 of the 30 people on board. It is believed to be the deadliest incident in the English Channel since the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM w ...

began collecting data in 2014.

Background

People smuggling People smuggling (also called human smuggling), under U.S. law, is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries' laws, ei ...

across Europe has become a common practice by criminal gangs in the 21st century. In recent times, significant numbers of migrants have crossed the

from France to get to the UK. This included 25,700 between the start of 2021 and the time of this incident. In the past many migrants illegally boarded lorries which used the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone ( Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles (Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dove ...

, but as port security has tightened more have tried to cross in small inflatable boats. Reasons for crossing the Channel include family reunion, common language, and British migration and labour rules. It is impossible to apply for

asylum in the UK Although some means of controlling foreign visitors to the United Kingdom existed before 1905, modern immigration border controls as now understood originated then. Although an Aliens Act 1793, Alien Act was passed in 1793 and remained in force t ...

until they are physically in the country so many try to cross the English Channel illegally. On 23 November ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' reported that, due to the increase in the number of migrants crossing from France to the UK, the UK had offered to provide police officers to help the French to patrol their beaches. This offer was reported to have been rejected by the French, due to concerns that it would represent a breach of their sovereignty.

Incident

On 24 November 2021, an inflatable dinghy, carrying 30 migrants across the English Channel from France to the UK, capsized whilst still in French

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

near

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The p ...

and

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. Twenty-seven people were found dead, while two others survived and were rescued, and another is still missing. Sixteen of the victims were identified as Kurdish people from

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

, including ten men, four women and two children; four more were Afghan men, three

Ethiopians Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

, one Kurdish man from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

, a

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Soma ...

woman, one

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

man, and an Egyptian man. Four suspected

smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

were arrested shortly after. A

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

-based fisherman described to

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

how he thought French vessels did not respond to

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organi ...

calls from the French coastguard to attend the incident in French waters about off Calais. He said that the alarm was raised at about 1pm and that there were about 15-20 large French fishing vessels off Calais at the time which did not respond. On the other hand, boats from

HM Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within th ...

at Dover and the British Border Force's vessel ''BF Hurricane'' arrived on the scene around 45 minutes later. The French authority that was responsible for overseeing the French side of the English Channel where the incident occurred said that a British helicopter from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Dover had joined a French naval helicopter and patrol vessel, a police boat, and a lifeboat to search for survivors and to recover bodies. On 28 November, one of the two survivors was reported by ''

Rudaw Rudaw is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ciechocin, within Golub-Dobrzyń County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies south-west of Golub-Dobrzyń and east of Toruń )'' , image_skyline = ...

'' to have said that after their boat began to deflate they called the French authorities for help, but were told they were in British waters, so they called British authorities, but no one came to help. This was confirmed by the numerous records of the telephone calls and the testimonies of the victims' relatives and in November 2022, by elements from the French official enquiry. The UK

Maritime and Coastguard Agency The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent marine ...

said that on 24 November they had received "more than 90 alerts, including 999 emergency calls, from the English Channel" and had responded to all of the calls. However, a Guardian investigation reported that in the lead up to the disaster, hundreds of migrants were "left adrift" in the channel with no assistance. "Around 440 people appear to have been left adrift after the coastguard sent no rescue vessels to 19 reported boats carrying migrants in UK waters, according to an analysis of internal records and marine data seen by the ''Observer'' and ''Liberty Investigates''. Experts said the failure to act appears to breach international law." Meanwhile, an investigation by The Independent found that "It took the UK and French coastguards 12 hours to respond following the first mayday call, with the authorities arguing over who was responsible. By the time rescue vessels and aircraft arrived at the scene, all but two of the passengers had drowned and died of exposure."

Inquiries

An inquiry in France in November 2022 indicated that the migrants called many times the emergency services in France and Britain, but no rescue was initiated following these calls. It later transpired that eighteen emergency calls were made by the migrants to the French authorities. It appears that the stricken dinghy, although in French waters, was not far from being in English waters, with the implication that each authority was expecting the other to come to the rescue first.

Aftermath

There have been ongoing negotiations between the UK and France about the channel crossings and particularly the financing of border protections. Both the UK and France have said that more needs to be done to deal with the problem and suggested that the other side is not doing enough. In June 2022, French police arrested fifteen suspected people smugglers in connection with the deaths. Another suspect was arrested in Britain in November. Nine people, including five French soldiers, were charged in May 2023 with failing to rescue the victims.

Reactions

Political

From the United Kingdom

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

said he was "shocked, appalled and deeply saddened" by the incident. The Home Secretary

Priti Patel Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017. Patel has been the M ...

commented that it was the "starkest possible reminder of the dangers of Channel crossings".

Natalie Elphicke Natalie Cecilia Elphicke (née Ross; born 5 November 1970) is a British Conservative Party politician and finance lawyer. At the 2019 general election, she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover, succeeding her husband Charl ...

, the MP for

, criticised the actions of the French authorities as "playing us for fools" after French police were seen watching a group of at least 40 migrants, including at least 5 children, gathering on the beach near

Wimereux Wimereux (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the b ...

with a large inflatable boat, and staying in their car and taking no action, whilst the group took to the sea en route to the UK.

From France

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who was the country's Prime Minister from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served f ...

described the incident as a "tragedy" and described the drowned as “victims of criminal smugglers who exploit their distress and injury”. French interior minister

Gerald Darmanin Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iris ...

said that "It is an appalling situation for France, for Europe and for humanity to see these people perish at sea because of people smugglers." The Mayor of Calais,

Natacha Bouchart Natacha Bouchart (born 29 May 1963) is a French politician of the Republicans (LR) and formerly Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Life and career Bouchart was born at Lens. She has served as Mayor of Calais since 2008 and was elected to r ...

, blamed Johnson's lack of responsibility and inability to take quick action. She also said she had warned members of the government of exceptional pressure on refugees. A French local official described it as the worst ever incident, involving people trying to cross to the UK, in the English Channel. On 27 November,

Margaritis Schinas Margaritis Schinas (Greek: Μαργαρίτης Σχοινάς; ; born 28 July 1962) is a Greek politician and former civil servant. He took office in December 2019 as a vice-president in the Von der Leyen Commission with the portfolio of European ...

, vice-president of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, recalling that "the main slogan of the referendum campaign

n Brexit N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

was 'We take back control", explains that the United Kingdom has left the EU, it "must now decide how to organise the management of border control". On 28 November, the Ministers of Interior of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the European Commission met in Calais and decided jointly to address the issue by deploying common EU resources at the border, including joint surveillance via

Frontex The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex (from French: ''Frontières extérieures'' for "external borders"), is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, exercising in coordination with the border ...

. Local

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Pierre-Henri Dumont Pierre-Henri Dumont (born 7 October 1987) is a French politician for the Republicans party (''French language: Les Républicains''), who has been serving as a member of the National Assembly since June 2017, representing the Pas-de-Calais's ...

blamed the tragedy on

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAE ...

and criticised

Damien Carême Damien Carême (born 16 November 1960 in Joeuf) is a French politician of Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV) who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. Political career A former member of the Socialist Party ( ...

, an MEP from Europe Ecology, had previously proposed that France renounce the

Le Touquet agreement Juxtaposed controls (in french: link=no, bureaux à contrôles nationaux juxtaposés, or ; in nl, link=no, kantoren waar de nationale controles van beide landen naast elkaar geschieden) are a reciprocal arrangement between Belgium, France, the ...

Other

A representative of the migrant charity Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said in response to the incident that the UK should take more refugees as it was a more stable place and could offer better protection, and "...if everybody is supposed to stay in France because we're slight to the west of France, then France can say the same thing to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and then Italy can say the same thing to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

, and in the end, the entire international refugee protection regime will crumble." The

stated that this incident was the biggest single loss of life in the English Channel since it began collecting data in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English Channel disaster, November 2021 2021 disasters in France 21st century in Hauts-de-France France–United Kingdom relations November 2021 disaster Kurdish refugees Maritime incidents in 2021 Maritime incidents in France November 2021 events in France Migrant boat disasters Migrant boat disasters in Europe