Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

French, British rescuers passed buck as migrants drowned

French, British rescuers passed buck as migrants drowned

The French and British coast guard services passed the buck as a dinghy packed with migrants sank in the Channel last year, leading to the most deadly such accident on record, according to reports on Monday.
Le Monde newspaper in France published revelations based on documents contained in a French legal investigation into the worst tragedy involving a migrant boat in the busy shipping lane.

Britain’s ITV channel is set to air similar claims about the 27 deaths in a documentary later Monday entitled “The Crossing.”

The reports reveal that passengers first contacted France’s Channel rescue center at 1:48am on November 24 to say their vessel was deflating and its engine had stopped.

They sent their locations via WhatsApp around 15 minutes later.

At this stage, and again at 2:10am, the boat was in French territorial waters, with panicked cries and screams audible on a recording of the calls to the French Cross Gris-Nez rescue center.

“While trying to conserve limited resources at a time of numerous crossings, and given the course of the boat that was approaching British waters, the Cross chose to pass the responsibility to the English,” Le Monde said.

The French investigation revealed another 15 calls to French rescuers from 2:43 to 4:22, including from one passenger who said he was “literally in the water.”

The recordings reveal frustrated-sounding French responders repeatedly instructing the distressed callers to contact the British coast guard because they were in British waters.

“You’re not listening, you won’t be saved,” an operator is heard muttering to herself after a call with a passenger cuts off abruptly. “‘I’m in the water’... well, I didn’t ask you to leave.”

According to the ITV documentary, the English coast guard replied to the French at 2:44 am to say that it considered the boat was in French territorial waters.

That assessment was based on the fact that a French ringtone could be heard when calling one of the passengers, the Guardian newspaper said in a preview of the ITV documentary.

At 4:34 am, the French coast guard closed its incident log assuming the boat had been rescued by the British, even informing a passing container ship that it need not stop to help.

No rescue boat was sent and floating bodies and a deflated dinghy were discovered later that day in French waters by a fisherman.

“We’re horrified,” the director general of the charity France Terre d’Asile, Delphine Rouilleault, told AFP. “What is described is a complete lack of cooperation for rescue operations and their trivialization, which means no one grasped the danger for these people.”

Lydie Arbogast from the migrant charity Cimade added: “It’s very worrying to see that both sides, French and British, went to great lengths to show that it was up to the other side to take responsibility for the search and rescue.”

The number of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England has soared over the last five years from almost none to 42,000 this year, causing severe tensions between Paris and London.

The drownings last November saw relations plummet when Boris Johnson, then prime minister, pointed the finger at France and suggested all asylum seekers who landed in Britain be sent back across the Channel.

Under new leader Rishi Sunak, Britain agreed to pay another 72.2 million euros ($74.5 million) to France on Monday to help finance extra security measures on French beaches.

Although the French coast guard has disclosed its call logs to lawyers as part of an ongoing legal case, its British counterpart has not, the Guardian said.

The French investigation also revealed how French rescue services were frequently overwhelmed and under-staffed while coping with the demands of so many small boats.

Migrant smugglers routinely give the numbers of the French and British coast guard to passengers before they leave.

“They all call us, even if they are not in difficulty,” a manager at the French rescue cooperation center told investigators.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
×