Man dies after fighting ‘breaks out’ on French coast as dozens try to board UK-bound boat.TA
Medics tried to revive the man, but he was sadly declared dead at the scene.
Fighting broke out on the coast at Camiers, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, it was claimed (file picture) (Image: Getty)
A man has died amid a reported scramble for places on a UK-bound dinghy. French prosecutors on Friday said they had opened criminal enquiries into two tragedies on their country’s coasts, believed to involve migrants trying to reach the UK.
On Thursday morning, fighting broke out on the coast at Camiers, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, following “reports of a migrant-carrying vessel in distress”, according to a spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture. He also said: “Around thirty individuals managed to board the boat, but an adult male was then found in the water, and in cardiorespiratory arrest”. Medical experts tried to revive the man, who has not been identified, but he was later declared dead at the scene.
This came as around 781 migrants arrived in the UK on Wednesday, after crossing the English Channel, the highest number on a single day so far this year.
The cumulative number of arrivals by small boats in 2026 now stands at 18,565, according to provisional figures from the Home Office.
A separate fatal incident happened on the beach at Neufchâtel-Hardelot, the French spokesman added, saying the “body of a person in their thirties, of African appearance, was discovered” there.
The latest deaths mean that at least 21 people, including women and children, have died in the Channel this year as they tried to get to Britain. The worst tragedy of this kind came in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.
Migrants on a dinghy in Northern France (file picture) (Image: Getty)
The surge in crossings also indicates that people-trafficking gangs are still getting hold of dinghies and outboard motors with ease, despite a crackdown on supply routes.
In further chaotic scenes, a dinghy launched from near Bayeux, in Normandy, made a record 38-hour voyage.
They launched just before 10am on Monday and, on Tuesday afternoon, were picked up by RNLI lifeboats and later transferred to a Border Force cutter. The 51 migrants aboard were eventually brought ashore at Dover in the early hours of Wednesday.
The total number of arrivals, according to Home Office figures, is down 42% on the equivalent point last year, when the total stood at 32,188. It is also 26% below the figure at this stage in 2024, when the total was 25,165, figures showed.
The Prime Minister has suggested that Britain’s exit from the European Union has hampered its efforts.
Migrants continue to cross the English Channel in small boats (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has suggested that Brexit is hampering the UK’s ability to stop migrants stopping the English Channel in small boats. When asked by BBC South East why crossings are still happening, the Prime Minister said: “I do point to the loss of collaboration with neighbours that came with Brexit.
“That hasn’t helped.
“We had a more cooperative system, if you like, in the past, so we are not able to have the same levels of collaboration that we used to have, but I don’t put that forward as a reason why we won’t keep working until we get the crossings right down. That is our goal, that we don’t want to see any crossings at all.”
He added: “I’m not going to give you a date by which we can do that, or a promise that we will do it, as other governments have done in terms of a particular deadline.
Mr Burnham has said Brexit has not helped (Image: Getty)
“But what I will say to you is I will not stop nor will the Home Secretary until we bear down every element of this criminal, illegal activity and that we do so in a way that gets the numbers right now.”
Chris Philp, Conservative shadow home secretary, said: “Andy Burnham is gaslighting us all to hide his own failures, with over 1,000 illegal immigrants coming in this week alone.”
He added that under previous EU rules, the UK “only ever sent a handful of people back to Europe”, PA reported.
Mr Philp said: “The only way to stop the crossings is to deport all illegal immigrants upon arrival.
“To do this we need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and that’s the one thing that Weak Borders Burnham will never do.”
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This week saw more than 700 people arrived in the UK on Wednesday and two vessels landing undetected on British shores within two days.
But the overall number of crossings this year (18,609) is down 42% on this time last year (32,188), and 26% below the figure at this stage in 2024 (25,165).
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year £662million agreement with France in Dunkirk in April.
