Search teams were on Tuesday scouring the Channel for a missing person following the deaths of six migrants after their boat capsized and sank during an attempt to cross from France to England.
Possibly one person remained unaccounted for, a spokeswoman from Préfecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord (Premar) told the French news agency AFP.
Six Afghan men died when the boat thought to have been carrying as many as 66 people sank on Saturday morning.
All of the rescued passengers were men, most of them from Afghanistan, with some Sudanese and a few minors, according to the French coastal authority.
Their identity is being investigated.
On Sunday, around 200 people gathered in the northern French port city of Calais to pay tribute to the victims.
They marched behind a large banner listing the names of the 376 migrants that activists say have died attempting to cross the Channel since 1999.
Après chaque drame, comme celui du naufrage d’hier ayant coûté la vie à 6 personnes, un rassemblement est organisé ce soir à Calais pour rendre hommage aux trop nombreuses victimes de la frontière.
— Utopia 56 (@Utopia_56) August 13, 2023
Ni oubli, ni pardon envers cette politique meurtrière. pic.twitter.com/W1f0smkXBL
"Criminal traffickers"
The spokeswoman also said that Premar is expecting a possible surge of Channel crossing attempts and is keeping six patrol boats mobilised in the area.
The French and British governments denounced what they say are criminal traffickers behind the crossings.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak blames the criminal gangs facilitating small boat Channel crossings, his spokesman said on Monday.
"It's a stark reminder of how dangerous these crossings are and how vitally important it is to disrupt these criminal gangs," he added.
"And it is right the government acts urgently and takes all possible steps to close down this route."
"The six people who died were Afghan."
— Sabir Zazai 🧡 (@sabir_zazai) August 12, 2023
There are no safe or legal routes for Afghans. Only 54 Afghans have been resettled by the UK Government, not the promised 5,000.
Tragic and avoidable loss of life. My thoughts are with everyone affected. https://t.co/gZFRaW4Cru
The French government promised to fight the smugglers' networks.
The authorities near Calais are also installing a floating dam on the banks of the river Canche. The device is an attempt to save lives and challenge smugglers, according to the prefecture.
Yan Manzi, co-founder of the charity Utopia 56, told RFI that such moves would be likely to push people to take more risks.
Investigation
Prosecutors in the French port of Boulogne initially opened an investigation on Saturday, hours after the tragedy.
But counterparts in Paris assumed control of the inquiry into the deaths on Sunday, as police pursued the traffickers responsible.
The death toll is the highest since November 2021 when 27 migrants lost their lives in the Channel.
That tragedy sparked tension between Britain and France over which country needed to do more to prevent such disasters.
More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats from France to south-eastern England since Britain began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018, official figures revealed last Friday.
French coastguards have mobilised six patrol boats in the Channel and a helicopter in anticipation of further attempts by migrants to cross as weather and sea conditions improve.
(with AFP)
