French Coast Guard: One Dead After Migrant Boat Incident in the English Channel

French coast guard forces announced today, Friday, that one person drowned and another is in critical condition after a rubber boat carrying 66 migrants heading to Britain encountered difficulties off the northern coast of France. French rescue teams reached the boat around midnight GMT and found that one of its air tubes had deflated. Several migrants were in the cold waters of the English Channel. Two individuals were recovered from the sea after losing consciousness. The coast guard reported that one was airlifted to the coastal city of Calais while resuscitation efforts for the other were unsuccessful. They added that search operations are ongoing. The channel, which separates Britain from mainland Europe, is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Migration Watch UK statistics indicate that the number of migrants making the perilous crossings in small boats this year has surpassed 29,000, approximately a one-third decrease from 2022. In November 2021, at least 27 migrants died after a boat sank in the channel, marking the highest known death toll in a single incident.