France’s deputy interior minister has warned of a “heavy but still uncertain” death toll following the capsizing of a boat carrying migrants in the English Channel that claimed the lives of at least two adults and children aged five and eight.
The incident, which took place off the coast of northern France near Dunkirk, is the most serious since the start of a spike last year in Channel crossings by migrants seeking asylum in Britain.
Marlene Schiappa, deputy interior minister, wrote on Twitter that she had learned “with great sadness” of the loss of the craft, which she said had been transporting 19 migrants towards England.
“Despite the efforts of state assets mobilised for the rescue effort, the toll is heavy and still uncertain,” Ms Schiappa wrote.
Hervé Tourmente, deputy prefect for the Nord region around Dunkirk, speaking to reporters at the scene of the rescue effort, said the incident had claimed the lives of two adults and children aged five and eight.
One man was found dead in the water, separated from others who had been on board, while the three others who died were all rescued but suffered cardiac arrest.
Mr Tourmente subsequently told France Bleu radio that the people in the boat were Iranian nationals. He said that teams had continued searching given unconfirmed reports that a baby remained missing, although he stressed that survival was unlikely in the cold water after five hours.
The local maritime authorities subsequently announced that search activities had been called off at 6pm local time without finding anyone else in the water but that they would resume in the morning.
“This is the worst toll that we’ve known in the north,” Mr Tourmente told France Bleu.
The maritime authorities said a wind of 17 knots with gusts of 25 knots was blowing at the time of the capsize at 9.30am local time. The water temperature was 14C.
British prime minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter: “My thoughts are with the loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives in the Channel today.
“We have offered the French authorities every support as they investigate this terrible incident and will do all we can to crack down on the ruthless criminal gangs who prey on vulnerable people by facilitating these dangerous journeys.”
The tragedy comes amid a rise in the number of people seeking to reach the UK in small boats, as opportunities to make the journey by other means, such as hiding in trucks, have diminished.
Nearly 5,500 people had made the crossing in 2020 by early September, according to unofficial estimates, compared with 1,890 for the whole of 2019, itself a record year.
The only previous known death of someone attempting a clandestine Channel crossing was that of Abdulfatah Hamdallah, 28, from Sudan, who was found dead on a French beach in August.
Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the UK parliament’s home affairs select committee, called the incident “truly awful news”.
“It is even more distressing that children should be involved in this tragedy,” she said. “The thought of children ending up in the cold waves is terrible.”
The Nord prefecture on Monday issued a warning about the dangers of taking to sea any time this week.
The incident is likely to further heighten the political controversy surrounding migrant crossings. Before this month’s Conservative party conference, Home Office officials drew up a number of proposals to prevent crossings, including a barrier in the Channel and a wave machine to drive migrants back towards France.
While none of the proposals was adopted, home secretary Priti Patel used a speech at the conference to announce what she promised would be the “biggest overhaul . . . in two decades” of the asylum system, which she described as “fundamentally broken”.