Despite Wednesday seeing the deadliest channel crossing disaster on record, migrants in France appear determined to continue their efforts to reach the UK.
On Thursday, photographs from Grande-Synthe in Dunkirk showed an abandoned camp along the railway. It was reportedly used as a temporary shelter for migrants who had their camp burned down by French police.
Among them were a number of families with small children, many of whom could be about to make the same perilous journey that saw 27 people lose their lives a day earlier when a dinghy capsized off the coast of Calais after setting off from Dunkirk.
Pictured is a group of small children walking together along disused railway tracks. Around them, tents had been pitched by migrants as a shelter. Many of these children might be making the dangerous same journey that 27 lost their lives on Calais coast shoreline.
Lya from Iraq poses in a temporary migrant camp at Loon Beach. This was the day following 27 migrants drowned when their dinghy burst while they tried to cross the English Channel in Dunkerque, France.
Pictured: A woman with her two sons from a camp near the Dunkirk suburb Grande-Synthe, where a group of around 500 migrants have gathered, with some hoping to reach the UK despite the Wednesday being the deadliest day of channel crossings on record
Today’s photos from Grande-Synthe Camp showed warm-covered people huddled in small tents in damp areas.
Migrants stand near tents at a makeshift migrant camp in Dunkerque near Calais, France, November 25, 2021
According to reports, the victims included 17 males, 7 women and 2 boys, as well as two girls and one boy thought to be a teenager. Reports indicate that one of those who died was pregnant.
Pictures from the Grande-Synthe camp today showed people wrapped in warm clothing, huddled among small tents placed irregularly in a damp clearing.
People used shopping trolleys to transport their items around camp. Food scraps and litter were also scattered about.
According to one woman, she shared a tent with five of her children. Another could be seen eating from the table and feeding her sons, which was one of them.
A young girl called Lya, who had made the journey to France from Iraq, posed for a press photographer wearing a bright pink coat and holding a doll.
An additional group of children was seen walking down the railway tracks together, where the tents were pitched.
Calais Migrants said they felt more determined to make it to Britain than ever, in spite of the fact that 27 people died crossing the Channel yesterday.
Speaking in France, a Kurdish computer programmer called Kochar, 25, told MailOnline: ‘It is not going to stop people from wanting to come to England. It is possible to take a huge risk in order to reach England.
Aram, a 41-year-old Iraqi Kurd said that there are certain people who may put off dying if they believe they will die. But most people don’t have the option.
Pictured: On Thursday, a group of men started a campfire in a tent.
Pictured: Tents belonging to migrants in Grand Synthe near Dunkirk, France who still hope to cross the English Channel after a boat capsized off the French coast
Calais Migrants (pictured on Thursday), said they had more determination than ever to reach Britain despite the fact that 27 people died crossing the Channel yesterday.
“We need to make it to England. ‘I will get on a boat some time. This might happen this week. My friend called me and told me of the deceased. I did not know any of them.’
Since news broke of the tragedy, migrants shared their stories about how cruel traffickers had reduced the prices they charge for a spot in a boat by 500 euro.
MailOnline reported that fare to take a boat in open dinghy has been cut from 2,500 Euros to 2,000 Euros for those looking for a better life.
Kochar said: ‘Last week it was costing 2,500 euros to get a place. It was discounted to 500 Euros, according to Kochar.
‘It looks like the price has come down because of these people who have died. The people smugglers are worried about losing business – so they want to give a better deal,’ he said.
Aram said: ‘I heard that the price had come down today. Everybody is sending you messages. This is great. It is still far too expensive.’
To reach Germany via Kurdistan through Belarus, he paid 2,500 Euros and 500 Euros to travel to France.
Here’s the first image of Calais’ flimsy, dangerous dinghy, which sank yesterday killing 27 including three children and five women.
After a boat accident in Channel, where 27 people were killed yesterday, RNLI brought a group of migrants into Dover, Kent.
More migrants have crossed the Channel by the Dover lifeboat despite 27 deaths yesterday
As the French authorities failed again to prevent migrants from reaching the UK, police patrolled a Calais beach.
MailOnline interviewed another group of Iraqi Kurdish migrants. These men described their near death experiences after their boat burst into water in the Channel.
They claimed they paid 2,500 Euro each to join 52 other passengers on board a boat leaving Dunkirk Beach last Friday.
They were standing outside an Auchan grocery to shelter from the rain, and claimed they’d spent 4 hours driving out to sea. Then disaster hit in the dark.
Ali (22-year-old student) mimicked the sound of air blowing as the boat deflated.
He said: ‘The air came out and we all landed up in the water. We thought it was going to end in death. ‘Luckily everyone had lifejackets so we floated.
Following a minor boat accident in Channel, 27 people were killed yesterday in what was the Channel’s most tragic migrant disaster, and a large group of migrants wait on the bus. Picture date: Thursday November 25, 2021
Dover’s cliffs are visible in the early hours of the morning following a small incident on the English Channel. This was in Dover (England), Thursday Nov. 25, 2021
The water was rough for 15 minutes. People were screaming before the French boats rescued them.
‘We had five young children and six women in the boat. This was an extremely dangerous situation. We all were terrified. However, we were eventually brought back to safety.
‘It is sad that people have died, but now we want to try again. You might find it in one or two days, or even longer. Right now, the weather is too bad to go.’
Another member of the group said: ‘In Kurdistan we have no money, no food and no life. There is Daesh and the Government is very bad, but England is good.’
Following the worst day in recent migrant crises, many more are now able to make the dangerous journey across the Channel.
Before disembarking at Dover on Thursday, a group of people wearing blankets wrapped around their bodies was seen huddled onboard an RNLI Lifeboat.
After a French fishing boat saw people swimming in the ocean off France, the British and French authorities launched a joint rescue and search operation. It was called off on Wednesday night.
Today, 27 people died in the Calais area. This sparked an international war of words between France and Britain.
Calais Police detain migrants who were wearing lifejackets and trying to cross into the UK.
Gerald Darmanin (French interior minister) said 27 deaths were an “absolute tragedy” and blamed human trafficking rings that promised the ‘El Dorado of England for a high fee.
Darmanin stated that the boat that sank was very fragile, comparing it to “a pool you blow up inside your yard”.
However, the man could not identify the nationalities of those who died but stated that two victims were Somalian and Iraqi. He also said they had suffered severe hypothermia.
In connection to the incident five French traffickers have been arrested. According to the French prosecutor, magistrates will be investigating possible charges such as unintentional hurting, murder, and assisting illegal immigration.
Kevin Foster, Britain’s immigration minister, stated Wednesday that Britain supplied a helicopter to search for survivors. Foster also said the UK would be happy to do more in support of French efforts to stop Channel crossings.
Ministers have been vying to eradicate people trafficking by saying that they had provided resources and were happy to assist them.
Calais MP Dumont stated that extra patrols “will not change any of it because we have 200 to 300km shore to monitor 24 hours a day”.
He stated that he believed it was time for the governments of both countries to talk and not blame each other.
“This is unacceptable, and we will not accept it.”
According to data from the PA news agency, more than 25700 individuals have traveled in small boats to the UK this year. This is three times as many people who made that dangerous trip for 2020.
According to figures released Thursday by the Home Office, more than 37.500 asylum requests were submitted in the UK for the year ending September. It is the most recent figure in almost 20 years.
With more than 67.500 asylum requests still awaiting decisions at September’s end, the backlog of cases reached their highest level since records comparable began.