Story by Jon King
A migrant has died and 72 rescued from a boat carrying more than 110 people trying to reach the UK. The French coastguard said a rescue vessel was monitoring a boat in the Gravelines of northern France overnight from Thursday to Friday and it picked up 72 migrants who requested help.
The crew found one person on the boat who needed CPR and a rescue helicopter was dispatched, but the migrant was pronounced dead. Three other people were found injured, including one who needed urgent medical care, according to a translation of a statement from the Prefecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord.
The dead man was a 34-year-old Afghan national. Another man was stabbed and two women were burned on the vessel.
Forty-five of those on board continued towards the UK and were picked up by a British rescue vessel, according to French authorities.
News of the fatality came after 494 migrants arrived in the UK on Thursday, the first to successfully cross the Channel in 10 days.
The seven boats that made the crossing were the first since August 17 when 250 people arrived.
The total number is down overall this year, according to analysis of Government data.
Andy Burnham Appoints His First Cabinet in London© Getty
At least 16 migrants have died this year trying to reach Britain by small boat. A man and three women were found dead on beaches near Dunkirk and Calais this month alone.
Some 16,391 migrants have crossed the Channel so far, down 43% on the same time last year and a 17% drop from the same point in 2024.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said she will not be “complacent” about the falling numbers and there is more the Government must do.
She added: “That is why I have boosted enforcement on the French beaches and overseas and introduced new legislation to tackle the pull factors that draw people here through unsafe and illegal routes.”
