The French authorities launched an appeal on Wednesday, December 1, to collect "any information likely to help identify" the migrants who died in the shipwreck that occurred on November 24 in the English Channel. The statement was released by the prosecutor of the Paris Republic, Laure Beccuau.

Any relevant information can be sent to this email address: ugivc@gendarmerie.interieur.gouv.fr

Read more: Dozens drown in English Channel's deadliest migrant drowning accident

27 migrants, including 17 men, seven women, two teenagers and a young child, lost their lives in the tragedy, considered the deadliest ever in the Channel. A pregnant woman was among the victims, French Minister Delegate for Citizenship Marlene Schiappa said on Wednesday, visiting Calais, in northern France.

A lot of work

The remains are at the Lille Forensic Institute. Several Afghan families have already come forward to identify relatives they believe died in the shipwreck. "There are two or three families. They are mostly cousins. A family came from England to identify the bodies and then prepare the funeral," explained Samad Akrach, speaking with AFP. Akrach accompanies them on behalf of the association Tahara, specializing in Islamic funeral rites.

Read more: First arrests made following tragic shipwreck off Calais

"Today they come to see if indeed they are members of their family, because for several days they have had no news of relatives who they knew were intending to cross the Channel," he added, ensuring that these families had come to identify "five people of Afghan origin".

The first victim was identified last weekend. It was Maryam Nuri Hama Amin, a Kurdish woman who drowned trying to reach her fiancee in Britain. She was in contact with her future husband by message during the fateful voyage, so he knew she was aboard. And he knew the dinghy sank.

For the others, a lot of work is being done by the Criminal Research Institute of the Gendarmerie Nationale (IRCGN) to give a name to those lost in this tragedy. It is a difficult task, "the list of people travelling on the boat was obviously not known in advance," says Colonel Franck Marescal, director of the IRCGN, to AFP.

Read more: Families wait for the truth after Channel tragedy

Several families have already contacted the organization. "We already have a small idea of some of the matches but we are not going to deal with them alone. A commission chaired by a magistrate, which will hopefully be able to meet within a week, will be in charge of dealing with all the files", adds Marescal. "Some families have contacted us, thinking that their loved one drowned, when this may not actually be the case. For others, the commission will judge that the informationgathered are not sufficient to identify one of the deceased."

Only two migrants survived the shipwreck, a Somali and an Iraqi Kurd. Both have been issued a temporary residence permit for six months in France, according to the authorities. They are "being accommodated by the state in reception and examination centers", said the state services on Thursday.

Read more: Families wait for the truth after Channel tragedy

France rejects joint patrols with Britain

The tragedy, which sent shockwaves through Europe, has rekindled tensions between Paris and London over irregular crossings in the English Channel. On Thursday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex rejected his British counterpart Boris Johnson's proposal for "joint patrols" on French soil to prevent the departure of migrants to Britain.

"We cannot accept that British police or military patrol our coasts, it is a question of our sovereignty," wrote the head of the French government.

Read more: 'My plan has always been to get to the UK': 21-year-old Harish, stuck between borders

Johnson had made this proposal during a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron in the aftermath of a shipwreck. It was also included in a letter from the British Prime Minister to Macron, which Johnson published on Twitter.

Macron then reciprocated by cancelling an invitation to British Home Secretary Priti Patel to attend a meeting in Calais with European officials on the situation off the French coast.

At the end of this meeting, it was agreed that a plane from Frontex, the European border control agency, would be deployed over the English Channel to monitor the area and prevent illegal crossings.

The plane, which arrived in northern France last Wednesday, "will be able to assist French, Dutch and Belgian police day and night," French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday. Frontex added in a statement that the aircraft is equipped with "modern sensors and radars to support border control on land and at sea".