The death toll on the France-Britain Channel route has risen to at least 56 this year after another migrant died on Sunday. This year is on track to be the deadliest for migrant crossing attempts since 2018, according to French officials.
A migrant man died Sunday (October 27) while attempting to cross the English Channel from France, reported the news agency Agence France Presse.
The fatality was reported to be a 40-year-old Indian national who had boarded a small boat from Tardinghen Beach in France's northeastern Pas-de-Calais region. The man purportedly suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be revived by emergency services personnel.
According to authorities, the boat was in "very poor condition" and had deflated immediately after it made its departure from the beach at around 5:30 in the morning. Most of the passengers were reported to have been able to swim back to shore, though not all of them were wearing life vests.
More crossings, more deaths
Sunday’s incident brings the migrant death toll on the France-Britain Channel route to at least 56 this year. Deaths included a four-month-old baby who drowned when their boat capsized while trying to make its way across the English Channel. Additionally, earlier this month, a child reported to be around four years old had been trampled on and among those who died when their overcrowded ship suffered engine failure.
According to reports from the news agency Associated Press, since the weather improved on Monday last week, migrants have made 57 attempts to cross the Channel, with law enforcement stopping 32 of them.
The English Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, with strong winds and currents making sea crossings dangerous for the dingy boats that many people board for irregular maritime journeys.
This year is proving to be the deadliest for people attempting to cross the English Channel since numbers started rising in 2018, according to the maritime prefecture that oversees French waters in the Channel.
Read AlsoThree migrants die in Channel crossing attempt
UK as a back door to France
People also cross the English Channel from the UK to enter France. Some people use the UK as a 'back door' to enter France, while others return to France after disappointing experiences in Britain. There have been an estimated 100 arrests for these sea crossings in 2024.
Though less common and not widely studied, French authorities are tracking these "reverse flows".
At the busiest times of the day, there are ferry crossings between the UK and France, roughly every half hour in each direction.
Read AlsoCrossing from the UK to France: An unusual but growing trend