Sad record: 230 migrants cross the canal on a single rubber boat

Dinghy left under chaotic circumstances

According to the rescue organization, the inflatable boat had arrived on Sunday evening under chaotic circumstances deposited in northeastern France. French rescue workers then accompanied the approximately 15-meter-long boat into British waters, where they were relieved by British colleagues, local SNSM head Jean-Marc Lamblin told the AFP news agency. There were more than 20 children among the 230 inmates. Also the British broadcasting group BBC reported 230 people in the boat.

Boat capsized with over 150 people on board

Just last week, a boat carrying more than 150 people capsized on its way to Great Britain as a result of a fire, triggering a large-scale rescue operation. “We didn’t think there could be more,” Lamblin explained. “Now there are no longer any limits.”

The British Prime Minister Andy Burnham made “unscrupulous smuggling gangs” responsible for the incident. These are ready, “risking human lives for profit“explained a spokesman. The UK Home Office condemned “criminal gangs who organize these crossings”.

Great Britain tightened asylum policy

Britain had its Asylum policy has recently become considerably more severe. In April, Paris and London agreed to revise their agreement to combat smugglers in the English Channel. Britain has repeatedly accused France of doing too little to stop migrants making the dangerous journey across the English Channel.

The British government puts the number of migrants who arrived on boats in the first half of the year at 14,000 – 42 percent fewer than in the same period last year. Recently, however, the number of migrants traveling in boats across the English Channel has increased again. On July 29, 752 people reached Great Britain by boat, more than ever on a single day this year.