LONDON: Four people died when a boat apparently packed with migrants capsized in freezing temperatures in the Channel overnight, the UK government said on Wednesday.

Dozens of others were plucked from the waters of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in a large-scale rescue operation involving UK and French emergency services.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is trying to tighten rules to prevent record numbers of migrants from attempting the crossing, called the capsize a “tragic loss of human life”.

Interior minister Suella Braverman said, “Crossing the Channel in unseaworthy vessels is lethally dangerous.” It was for this reason above all that the UK was trying to destroy the business model of the people smugglers, she told parliament.

The charity Refugee Action said the deaths were “predictable and avoidable”, while the Care4Calais group called the UK government’s failure to make safe routes available “utterly shameful”.

Sunak’s spokesman dismis-sed such criticisms as inappropriate.

“The government is firmly fixed on resolving this issue,” he said.

Ministers are acting to end “vulnerable people being exploited”, while Britain has accepted hundreds of thousands of individuals through safe routes over a number of years, he added.

Government sources said earlier that 43 people were rescued, including more than 30 who had fallen overboard, with fears the death toll will rise.

More than 43,000 migrants have made the journey across the Channel so far this year — a record — creating tensions between London and Paris about tougher preventative measures. It has also piled political pressure on the UK government, which promised to “take back control” of immigration after its Brexit departure from the European Union.

Lifeboats

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) coordinated the rescue operation, which also involved Border Force, police and other emergency responders.

Lifeboats were launched from the Channel port of Dover, followed by vessels from Ramsgate and Hastings along the coast, it added.

A government spokesman said the authorities were notified about “a migrant small boat in distress”. “There have been four confirmed deaths as a result of this incident, investigations are ongoing and we will provide further information in due course,” he added.

The MCA said at least four lifeboats and three coastguard rescue teams were dispatched, as well as two coastguard helicopters. A fishing vessel in the area also helped.

French officials provided helicopters and a navy patrol boat.

But opponents have criticised the government’s attempts to tighten entry rules, and called its proposals to deport failed asylum seekers to Rwanda unlawful. They have also accused ministers, including right-winger Braverman, of demonising asylum seekers and fuelling hostility towards people seeking sanctuary with inflammatory rhetoric.

Deal with Albania

On Tuesday, Sunak announced a new deal with Albania to stem the flow of migrants crossing the Channel from mainland Europe. A third of all those arriving in UK waters this year — almost 13,000 — have been Albanian.

Under the agreement, Albanians arriving by boat across the Channel would be immediately returned to their home country.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2022