This is the deadliest disaster in Channel this yearpublished at 15:08 British Summer Time
Hugh Schofield
Paris correspondent
It’s now officially confirmed that at least 12 people died
in the small boat wreck in the English Channel this morning.
The French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who is on his
way to the rescue centre in Boulogne-sur-Mer, says that two more people
are missing, and there are several people needing hospital treatment.
The French news agency AFP is quoting an unnamed source as
saying that the death toll stands at 13, including three minors.
It is the worst casualty toll in the Channel since the start
of the year.
It brings to nearly 40 the number of migrants who have died
trying to cross to England in 2024. French officials blame the rising
death toll on unscrupulous traffickers cramming too many people on unseaworthy
craft.