Migrant Boat Capsizes in English Channel, Killing at Least 13

A boat carrying migrants attempting to cross the English Channel from northern France to Britain capsized on Tuesday killing 13 dead people.

The boat’s bottom “ripped open,” said Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer.

More than 12,000 people have reached England in small boats in the first five months of the year, 18% more than during the same period last year, according to data published by the U.K.’s Home Office.

Barbarin confirmed the death toll, which was also verified by a maritime rescue official who requested anonymity.

Dozens more people were plunged into dangerous waters, officials reported.

A first aid post was set up in the nearby fishing port to treat survivors.

“If people don’t know how to swim in these agitated waters, it can go very quickly,” Barbarin added.

Rescuers managed to recover 61 people from the water.

The boat encountered difficulties off Gris-Nez point, located between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the incident was a “terrible shipwreck.”

The sea temperature in the area was around 68°F.

The International Organization for Migration reported that, prior to this incident, at least 30 migrants had died or gone missing while attempting the perilous crossing this year.

In the past week alone, more than 2,100 migrants have tried to cross the Channel in small boats, according to the U.K. Home Office.

The data includes people found in the channel or on arrival.

At least 30 migrants have died or gone missing while trying to cross to the U.K. this year, according to the International Organization for Migration, not including the latest deaths.

Increasingly strict asylum rules in Europe and hostile treatment of migrants have pushed many further north.

While the U.K. government has also been hostile, many migrants have family or friends in the U.K. and a perception they will have more opportunities there.

In recent months, the normally quiet beaches around Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer have seen violent clashes between police and smugglers.

Police have fired tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets, while smugglers have thrown stones.

France agreed last year to hold migrants back in exchange for hundreds of millions of euros.

The heightened border surveillance is increasing risks and ultimately leading to more deaths, closer to shore, said Salomé Bahri, a coordinator with the nongovernmental organization Utopia 56, which helps migrants stranded in France.

People are rushing to avoid being caught by authorities and there are more fatalities, Bahri said.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press