At least 4 dead in English Channel crossing, 43 rescued

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- At least four people, believed to be refugees, died while trying to cross the English Channel in a crowded dinghy in freezing conditions before dawn on Wednesday. Forty-three were saved by rescuers.

The dinghy left France overnight heading for Britain before a distress call was sent, prompting action from Coast Guard units in both countries off the coast of Kent.

"After a coordinated search-and-rescue operation led by HM Coastguard, it is with regret that there have been four confirmed deaths as a result of this incident. Investigations are ongoing and we will provide further information in due course," a British government representative said.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she was monitoring the situation.

"I am aware of a distressing incident in the channel this morning and I am being kept constantly updated while agencies respond and urgently establish the full facts," she said on Twitter. "My heartfelt thoughts are with all those involved."

As rescue efforts continued Wednesday, Clare Moseley, founder of British refugee nonprofit Care4Calais, said little has been done to discourage such crossings.

"There are no words to express our horror and grief at today's tragedy," Moseley said. "A full year on from 32 people losing their lives in the channel, our government has done nothing to prevent further deaths and so has failed both the refugees who need our help and our country."

More than 40,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year, the highest number since figures began to be collected in 2018.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a plan dedicating 400 specialists to settle asylum claims from Albanians to clear a backlog by the end of 2023.

Maritime expert Matthew Schanck compared Wednesday's incident to a similar attempted English Channel crossing last year in which 27 migrants died at sea.

"I'm just in shock," Schanck said. "We said this would happen again and sadly it has. It seems that a lot of resources have been thrown into this rescue, which is encouraging. It appears that some lessons have been learned from last year's tragedy."