A pregnant woman and six children were among the 12 people who tragically lost their lives after a boat capsized in the English Channel.
Frédéric Cuvillier, mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer where casualties are being treated, told the BBC this evening that a pregnant woman was among those who perished after the overcrowded inflatable vessel ‘ripped open’ off the coast of France.
Guirec Le Bras, regional prosecutor, said during a news conference that ten women were among the 12 reported to have died – which also included six minors.
He added that those killed were ‘primarily of Eritrean origin’, but said officials have not yet ‘consolidated’ enough information to provide further details.
WHAT INVESTIGATION REVEALS
Many of the passengers didn’t have life preservers, officials said, with one calling it the deadliest migrant accident in the channel this year.
A major rescue operation has been underway since the vessel got into difficulty off the coast of northern France, near Calais, this morning.
Some 70 people on board ended up in the water when the bottom of the boat, measuring just seven metres long, ‘ripped open’.
Survivors are being treated in Boulogne-sur-Mer, with several still in critical condition. A medical post was set up in the area.
Olivier Barbarin, chief of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer where casualties are being treated, said: ‘Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open….If people don’t know how to swim in the agitated waters … it can go very quickly.’
Mr Barbarin said the boat had set off from the coast at Ambleteuse, around nine miles further north, at around 7am yesterday.
‘The hull gave way because of the large number of people. There were very few ships around,’ he said.
A state-chartered vessel, the Minck, had seen the boat in difficulty and went to its rescue said Lieutenant Etienne Baggio, a French coastal official.
He added that search operations, which meant the beach was closed to allow helicopters to land, were still under way last night.
