InfoMigrants

A UK inquiry into what is believed to be the deadliest small boat crossing in the English Channel found that at least some of the deaths in the 2021 sinking had actually been "avoidable." The inquiry made recommendations on how to prevent future tragedies but was not tasked with assigning criminal culpability.

According to the British inquiry, some of the confirmed 27 deaths in a 2021 shipwreck in the English Channel could have been prevented if British and French authorities had acted sooner to rescue people hoping to reach Britain.

In that tragedy, at least 33 people were crammed into an inflatable dinghy in the early hours of November 24, 2021, with only two people surviving the sinking and several remaining missing to this day.

Most of the passengers of the ill-fated vessel were Iraqi Kurds.

At its narrowest point, the English Channel between northern France and the UK measures only 33 kilometers in distance | Source: Google Maps

The people on board the boat had sent out several distress calls when they realized that it was suffering shipwreck.

However, the boat was only located about 12 hours later -- by a French fishing vessel; at this point, the majority of those on board had drowned, including seven women and two children.

Four people are thought to remain "missing" to this day, as their bodies have not been recovered.

Survivor: Migrants were ignored 'like animals' in English Channel

The inquiry found that the failure to respond on part of the British coastguard was part of a "systemic" problem.

The inquiry determined that the coastguard was repeatedly put in an "intolerable position" due to "chronic staff shortages" to respond sufficiently to distress calls.

One of the key issues, however, uncovered by the inquiry commission was that officials also appeared to hold a "belief which had developed among HM Coastguard personnel that callers from small boats regularly exaggerated their level of distress."

It also highlighted that there was a case of "limited and late information provided by the French authorities" in the context of this particular incident.

The inquiry found that rescuers did not do enough - adding however that staff shortages and sustained stress partly explained these shortcomings | Photo: Channel Rescue

However, the inquiry could not determine any criminal liability, as it had been commissioned by the British government solely to make recommendations for improvements.

For the most part, the inquiry attributed responsibility for the tragedy primarily to the smugglers who had stuffed the 33 individuals onto "an unsuitable craft (with) inadequate safety equipment."

One of the only two survivors of the sinking, a Somali migrant by the name Issa Mohamed Omar, had however told the inquiry in 2025 that the passengers felt like they were being "treated like animals" after not receiving a response for so many hours after issuing their pleas for assistance.

Small boat crossings 'must end'

Inquiry chair Ross Cranston at the closing hearing highlighted the fact that since this deadly shipwreck, the rate of such small boat crossings to Britain had increased dramatically; in 2025, over 41,000 people made the dangerous journey -- the second-highest number since the UK started to record such movements on the Channel.

The same year, at least 29 people are believed to have died in the waters of the English Channel, with the number of fatalities surpassing double that number in the previous year.

"For their families and friends, this is, above all, an immeasurable human tragedy," Cranston said, adding that the "practice of small boat crossings must end."

"Apart from other reasons, it is imperative to prevent further loss of life."

Imran Hussain, from the Refugee Council in the UK, commented that the report proved that it "is so vital to have safe and legal routes to allow people to get to the UK" to avoid further deaths in the Channel.

File photo: People placed candles around a banner with names of migrants who have died since 1999 while trying to cross the English Channel, during a memorial for the 27 migrants who died when their dinghy deflated in the English Channel. Photographed at the Richelieu Park in Calais, France, on November 25, 2021 | Photo: REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Migration: one of the main political issues in the UK

For several years, various consecutive British governments have tried to stop such irregular and perilous crossings of the Channel, with current Prime Minister Keir Starmer even making the slogan "Stop the boats" part of his election campaign in 2024.

A government spokesperson said that there had been a number of improvements made to ‌emergency responses in the Channel since the tragedy in 2021, "including closer ‌working ties with France" and the hiring of additional officers for search-and-rescue operations.

However, various diplomatic, legislative and punitive efforts to interfere and stop small vessel crossings appear to have failed for the most part, as people continue to attempt the crossing, with smugglers coming up with increasingly inventive -- and dangerous -- ways to avoid detection by authorities.

The failure of successive governments, led both by the Conservative Party until 2024 and then by the Labour Party since then, has become a major political talking point in the UK, propelling the anti-immigration Reform UK Party, led by British firebrand Nigel Farage, to lead in all opinion polls for the next election.

That vote, however, is not likely to take place before 2029 if Starmer sees through his current parliamentary term.

with Reuters, AFP

InfoMigrants

UK inquiry finds that 'some' deaths in 2021 sinking in English Channel could have been 'avoidable'

Survivor: Migrants were ignored 'like animals' in English Channel

Small boat crossings 'must end'

Migration: one of the main political issues in the UK