At least 27 migrants are reported dead after boat sinks off the coast of France
French Prime Minister Jean Castex described the incident as a “tragedy.” “My thoughts are that with the many victims missing and injured, criminal smugglers exploit their misery and misery,” Castex said in a tweet Wednesday.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin arrived in Calais on Wednesday. He expressed “strong emotions in the face of the tragedy of the deaths of many migrants after a boat capsized in the English Channel.”
“We can never say enough about the criminal nature of the smugglers organizing these crossings,” he added in a tweet.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to respond to the tragedy, his spokesman said.
On Monday, the French Interior Ministry announced that it had sent more than 11 million euros worth of equipment and vehicles as part of an agreement with the UK, “to secure a coastal strip stretching over 130 kilometers, from Dunkirk to the Somme Bay.”
It added that “the police and gendarmerie will have more resources to carry out their mission against illegal immigration.”
Last week, 243 people were saved in the English Channel as they attempted to cross the sea to the UK.
