SANGATTE: A man was on Saturday found dead on a beach in northern France, from where many migrants seek to make the sometimes deadly crossing across the Channel to Britain, prosecutors said.

A morning walker on La Descenderie beach outside Calais discovered the body, the office of the prosecutor in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer said. The man’s identity is not known at this stage and an investigation has been opened into the cause of death, it said.

Some 20 police and members of the emergency services descended on the beach after the discovery of the body, an eyewitness said. Images taken by the photographer showed police surrounding the body of the man who was lying in the shingle of the beach.

The discovery came three days after the death of a migrant who fell into the sea off the French coast, while three other people were found dead washed up on northern French beaches on Wednesday.

At least 60 people have died trying to cross the Channel to England in increasingly overcrowded dinghies since the start of the year, making 2024 the deadliest year since migrant crossings began in earnest in 2018.

Since Thursday night, 160 migrants attempting the crossing in small boats had been rescued, the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and North Sea said in a statement. More than 1,500 migrants have landed on British shores over the past week, according to UK Home Office figures.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2024