French authorities have vowed to intensify a crackdown on smuggling gangs as a fourth person was arrested in connection to the deaths of five migrants, including a child, in the Channel.
Jacques Billant, the Pas-de-Calais prefect, said there had been a spike in the number of small boat crossings foiled by French police so far this year, with 200 attempts intercepted by law enforcement compared to 190 at the same period in 2023.
The regional official told i that “week after week” authorities were seeing overloaded boats, with smuggling gangs using very poor quality vessels that were under-inflated, as French law enforcement arrests soared by a third compared to last year.
Some boats had no floor or were under-powered, increasing the risk of damage or sinking, with not everyone onboard provided with life jackets, Mr Billant said.
On Tuesday, a six-year-old girl, three men and a woman died when their boat got into trouble a few hundred metres from shore off the coast of Wimereux, near Calais.
An 18-year-old from Sudan was arrested yesterday evening at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
He was detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
A 22-year-old Sudanese man and a 22-year-old man from South Sudan arrested on Wednesday continue to be held, while a 19-year-old from Sudan detained on Tuesday has been released without charge.
The 55 surviving boat passengers have already been interviewed and are expected to be spoken to further in the coming days.
French officials say up to 50 migrants stormed the vessel, crushing those on board, as more than 100 people crammed onto the inflatable boat.
Some 49 people were rescued but 58 others refused to leave the boat and continued their journey towards England, the coastguard said in a statement, with seven boats carrying 402 migrants arriving in UK waters the same day.
Mr Billant told i: “These are criminal networks that put migrants at risk. Because going to sea in an overloaded boat in water at 10C is going to death.
“In this context, under the authority of the minister of the interior and overseas territories, let us intensify our fight against smugglers and sea crossings.
“This start of the year is difficult, with more and more migrants and smugglers structured and aggressive, but the police remain fully mobilised on the entire coastline to stop as many departure attempts as possible.”
Since the start of this year, French police had made 85 arrests, compared to 64 the year last over the same period, with five arrests made over Wednesday’s tragedy, he added.
Tuesday’s deaths bring to 14 the total number of people killed so far this year while trying to cross the Channel.
The provisional total number of crossings for the year so far is 6,667 – 20 per cent higher than this time last year (5,546) but slightly lower than the same period in 2022 (6,691).
Some 29,437 people made the journey in 2023, down 36 per cent on a record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
Campaigners said the Rwanda plan would not save lives, as they lamented the news of more deaths due to the treacherous journey and called for the Channel not to become a graveyard for children.
But Rishi Sunak said the incident underscored the need for a deterrent, which the Government hopes the Rwanda scheme -sending migrants to the east African nation if they arrive illegally – will bring.