By Geert De Clercq and Ingrid Melander

PARIS (Reuters). – Thirty-one people were killed Wednesday when their dinghy capsized crossing the Channel between France and Britain. This was the most serious disaster involving migrants on the water separating countries.

Channel is one the busiest shipping routes in the world and its currents are strong. Overloaded dinghies are frequently unable to stay afloat, and they often fall prey to the waves when trying reach British shores.

Gerald Darmanin (French Interior Minister) stated that there were 34 passengers on board, with 31 having died and two being rescued. One was still missing.

He said, “There are only two survivors… their lives are in danger. They are experiencing severe hypothermia.”

“This is a disaster for France, Europe, and the humanity of seeing these people at the mercy smugglers die at sea.”

According to fishermen, more migrants fled France’s northern shores on Wednesday to enjoy calmer sea conditions. However, the water was still bitterly cold.

Nicolas Margolle, a fisherman from France, said to Reuters that he’d seen two smaller dinghies Wednesday morning, one filled with people and the other empty.

He claimed that another fisherman had called emergency services to rescue 15 dead or unconscious people who were floating around nearby in an empty dinghy.

Although the French police prevented more cross-border crossings in recent years than they did previously, this has not stopped all of the migrants trying to enter Britain. This is one of many reasons for tensions between Paris & London.

Boris Johnson, British Prime Minster, stated that he is “shocked” and “appalled” by these deaths.

After chairing an emergency cabinet meeting, he stated that he had his thoughts and condolences for the families of the victims.

Although both the governments blamed smugglers for their problems, many French politicians, such as Natacha Bouchart, Calais mayor, said Britain was to blame and should alter its immigration policies.

Rights groups have stated that migrants are taking greater risks to seek a better life abroad, and tighter supervision is a reason for this.

“To charge only the smugglers, is to cover the responsibility for the French and British authorities,” l’Auberge des Migrants Non-Governmental Organization stated.

Before Wednesday’s disaster, 14 people had drowned this year trying to make it to Britain, a local maritime prefecture official said. A total of seven people perished in 2020 and two more disappeared. In 2019, four were also killed.

Reuters reporters in France observed a group over 40 migrants sailing on a dinghy towards Britain early on Wednesday. Reuters journalists later saw the same group arrive on the British shore.