Baby dies as asylum seekers’ boat sinks off French coast

European Union leaders person called for caller authorities to ‘speed up returns’ of asylum seekers from the 27-nation bloc.

A babe has died aft a vessel carrying asylum seekers towards the United Kingdom sank successful the English Channel disconnected the seashore of France, the authorities said.

The section coastguard successful France said connected Friday the incidental took spot connected Thursday nighttime disconnected the French municipality of Wissant. The French maritime prefecture for the English Channel and the North Sea said 65 radical were rescued and taken to the larboard astatine Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Authorities said searches are ongoing to find immoderate much missing people. An probe has been launched by the nationalist prosecutor’s bureau successful Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The latest sinking raises the decease toll of migrants attempting to transverse the Channel this twelvemonth to astatine slightest 52 – the highest since 2018. In September, six children and six adults were killed, portion a two-year-old lad and 3 adults died aft overloaded boats ran into difficulties during the travel a period later.

The fig of migrants arriving successful boats to the UK averaged 53 this twelvemonth arsenic opposed to 13 successful 2020, according to authorities figures.

More than 26,000 migrants person landed connected UK shores since January 1, UK Home Office information shows.

‘Speed up returns’

The French and UK governments person sought to halt the travel of asylum seekers and migrants, who whitethorn wage smugglers thousands of euros for transition to the UK from France connected tiny boats.

France’s caller right-wing Prime Minister Michel Barnier said earlier this period that the state needs a stricter migration policy. He promised to beryllium “ruthless” with radical traffickers, who helium said “exploit misery and despair” that propulsion undocumented asylum seekers to hazard trying to transverse the Channel and the Mediterranean Sea.

Stopping the tiny vessel arrivals connected the UK’s confederate seashore was a cardinal contented successful its wide predetermination successful July. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to woody with the influx of tiny boats crossing from France aft scrapping the erstwhile Conservative government’s plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

On Thursday, European Union leaders called for urgent caller authorities to “facilitate, summation and velocity up returns” from the 27-nation bloc.

After a acme successful Brussels, the leaders called for “determined enactment astatine each levels” and urged the European Commission to suggest caller authorities to enactment this effort.

The connection suggested that “new ways to forestall and antagonistic irregular migration should beryllium considered”, apt referring to arguable proposals for establishing instrumentality centres extracurricular the EU. This follows Italy’s opening of 2 centres successful Albania this week, wherever migrants volition beryllium sent portion their asylum applications are processed.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies