Eight migrants died after their overloaded boat capsized during an attempt to cross the English Channel from France to Britain, French authorities have said.
The incident happened off the coast of Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France some time on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
A French rescue ship was sent to the area and rescue services offered medical assistance to 53 people on the beach, the French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea said. “Despite the emergency care provided, eight people have died,” it said. No one was discovered during the search at sea, it added.
Six people were taken to hospital “in relative emergency”, including a 10-month-old with hypothermia, Jacques Billant, the Pas-de-Calais prefect, told French media on Sunday.
He said survivors of the accident were from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran.
Survivors have been taken to the sports hall in Ambleteuse, the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais region said. The prosecutor's office in Boulogne-sur-Mer has opened an investigation into the accident.
Maritime authorities said numerous attempts by asylum seekers to make the perilous crossing in small boats have been attempted in recent days, with 200 people rescued in 24 hours over Friday and Saturday alone. The latest accident occurred shortly after the vessel embarked, a source said.
It comes less than two weeks after 12 people died when their boat sank in the Channel. A pregnant woman and six children were among the dead on September 3, with up to 65 people rescued off the coast of Cape Gris-Nez. Most of those in the boat that capsized were from Eritrea.
The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Sunday: “It's awful. It's a further loss of life.”
He told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme he had been to the National Crime Agency and seen the “awful sort of rubber dinghies that people are coming across the Channel with, many of them, of course, not able to make it in these contraptions”.
Mr Lammy said the government has been “discussing how we go after those gangs, in co-operation upstream with other European partners”.
The number of migrants packed on to each boat crossing the English Channel has reached a new high, making the journeys on the flimsy craft more perilous, analysis of data by The National reveals.
Boats now carry on average more than 60 asylum seekers and often that figure reaches 70 and above, while the boats typically remain the same size used in earlier attempts.
More than 30 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year and compared to 15 for the whole of last year and five in 2022, when the total number of asylum seekers crossing to the UK peaked.
The increasing number of deaths of migrants in the English Channel is being directly linked to the overcrowding.
The boats become more unstable and when they encounter trouble, more passengers are at risk. This year has seen a disturbing phenomenon arise in which the sheer numbers getting on to boats have resulted in migrants being crushed to death, alongside the constant danger of drowning.
Since the beginning of this year 22,000 migrants have arrived in England by crossing the Channel.
The UK Home Office is working closely with police in Libya to target gangs trafficking migrants towards Europe, with raids on warehouses where refugees are housed, often in appalling conditions.
In addition, UK National Crime Agency (NCA) has increased the number of officers based at Europol, who will work on organised immigration crime, by 50 per cent.
As one of the UK's first steps to strengthen international law enforcement and partnership arrangements, NCA officers have also been placed in Austria and Romania, with more assigned to South-east Asia, in countries where gangs are advertising Channel crossings.
Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series
Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg
Specs
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Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company%20Profile
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
THE%C2%A0SPECS
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Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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Spain drain
CONVICTED
Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.
Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.
Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.
SUSPECTED
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.
Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.
Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
