13 KILLED AS A MIGRANT BOAT CAPSIZES IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

Migrants met with the most feared outcome when they boarded a Dingy in a bid to sail across the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom. The bottom of the boat ripped apart, killing 13 people on-board and near drowning situations for many others on that fateful boat.

A French Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Coast Guard and the French Navy have deployed boats as well as helicopters to assist the rescue efforts. According to Naval Officer Etienne Baggio, a French Government-operated ship got alerted first about the emergency and responded immediately. Olivier Barbarin, the Mayor of the French coastal town of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, where casualties are being treated, confirmed the death toll.

The English Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes with strong currents, making Dingy and small boats a dangerous means to cross it.

Illegal migrants from the African continent and middle-east, cross over to any European countries through the Mediterranean Sea. Italy, Spain, France and Greece are on the front-line when it comes to the first point of landing for the migrants. After reaching the European continent, they try to cross the English Channel and enter the United Kingdom. Human trafficking gangs are very active on these routes. These smuggling gangs run a well-oiled  human trafficking nexus in association with NGO’s accused of shady dealings with the smugglers and some corrupt European politicians.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to work closely to dismantle migrant smuggling routes.

In August, another boat carrying thirty two migrants from Libya capsized causing one death and twenty two missing. Nine migrants were rescued. Similarly, another boat carrying 61 migrants drowned off the town of Zuwara on Libya's western coast.