- author, Holly Cole
- role, BBC News
French maritime authorities have said a woman has died while attempting to cross the English Channel on a heavily laden boat in “difficult conditions”.
Authorities said a French patrol boat arrived on the scene at 4:30am BST after several people on board the overloaded boat off the coast of Calais requested assistance.
One person was found “unconscious” and was taken by helicopter to hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, where he later died.
Authorities said 34 other people were rescued, but several on board refused assistance and remained on board.
A migrant boat leaving the coast of Calais overnight was reported to France’s monitoring and rescue centre.
AFP said there were 75 people on board the “crammed” boat.
Two patrols were sent out to search for the boat and arrived at about 4:30 a.m. BST, finding it in a “difficult situation,” France’s maritime authority said in a statement.
Some on board called for assistance and patrols began rescuing people in “distress” and removing them from the vessel, the officials added.
“During the transfer, one person on board the migrant boat was found unconscious. He was taken on board and first aid was given immediately,” they said.
A helicopter took the woman to hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where she later died.
France’s Ministry of the Marine said it was seeing “a new phenomenon of people dying at sea not from drowning but from disease or pressure.”
The 34 people rescued from the boat were taken to the port of Calais where they were taken into custody by rescue teams and border police.
French maritime authorities said several people on board the migrant boat refused help and remained on board.
“Given the risk of falling overboard or being injured during the forced intervention, the decision was taken to encourage those remaining on board to continue the voyage,” they said.
is more than 14,000 people Only a few ships have crossed the strait so far this year.
After winning the general election, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reversed plans by the previous Conservative government to deport some people who entered the UK illegally to Rwanda. He had previously pledged to divert £75 million from the policy to set up a border force.
Following Labour’s election victory, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour would “get to the root of the problem” by targeting smuggling gangs who “are making millions of dollars from small boats, undermining border security and putting lives at risk”.
She told the station, New Border Patrol Commander The new cross-border police force also represents a “significant improvement in law enforcement.”
