Calls are mounting in the UK and France for the introduction of safe routes for refugees crossing the Channel after a French organisation said it had received multiple distress calls from people making the crossing in recent days.
At least six people lost their lives early on Saturday trying to cross the Channel in a small boat and the organisation issued warnings that more lives would be lost in future unless there were significant government policy changes.
Government sources said the home secretary chaired a meeting with Border Force officials early on Saturday and that the Home Office supported the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, alongside RNLI, in conducting a search and rescue operation.
The French authorities led on the incident as it happened in French waters.
The NGO Utopia 56, which works to support migrants in northern France and operates an emergency number for people to call if they get into distress in the Channel, warned more deaths would follow unless safe routes were introduced to keep people from making the dangerous crossings.
On Thursday, 756 people crossed the Channel in 14 boats and on Friday 343 people crossed in six boats.
Utopia 56 coordinator Axel Gaudinat said it received three distress calls from people who got into difficulty in small boats between Wednesday and Thursday and another distress call between Thursday and Friday.
They have no way of knowing which boat the callers were on and urgently pass on all information they obtain about the location of the dinghy in distress and the number and type of passengers on board to the French and UK coastguards.
“We have received multiple distress calls,” said Gaudinat. “We contacted the coastguards to pass on this information. Our team are all volunteers and they are on the ground 24/7. They deserve so much respect.
“The border kills and we will see more deaths in the Channel unless safe routes are established. The smugglers only exist because there are no safe routes.”
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union accused the UK government of having “blood on its hands” over the deaths.
The PCS’s head of bargaining, Paul O’Connor, said there was a policy available to prevent such deaths and regretted the government had failed to heeds its calls to adopt it.
“It’s clear they have no desire to prevent these dangerous crossings,” he said. “Instead, they’re pouring taxpayers’ money down the drain on policies which are unlawful, unworkable and doomed to failure.
“Why? Because they want to scapegoat refugees to deflect from their own catastrophic failings on people’s living standards. They don’t care that people die as a result. They have blood on their hands.
“The government’s approach is a moral disgrace. The British people should not fall for it. We call upon every person in this country with a shred of humanity to support our call for safe passage.”
Numerous charities have called for safe and legal routes to protect lives and end the smuggling trade.
A UK government spokesperson said: “These deaths are devastating and our thoughts are with the victims’ families and friends at this time.
“This incident is sadly another reminder of the extreme dangers of crossing the Channel in small boats and how vital it is that we break the people smugglers’ business model and stop the boats.”
