One of the Channel drowning victims has described the dramatic chain of events leading to the death of 27 migrants trying to cross from France.
Mohamed Isa Omar, speaking from a French park said that he saw many people die in front of him. The few who couldn’t swim drowned within minutes and then died. The water was freezing.
Interview with BBC 28 year-old describes how around 29 people started sailing from Europe on Tuesday, October 10, and continued for three hours offshore of Calais before the dinghy collapsed.
Mohamed stated that panicked migrants had dropped their phones into the water to send rescuers their locations. He said he started swimming towards a big ship ‘far away’ – though it was hours before he was rescued.
Mohammed Shekha Ahmed (an Iraqi Kurd) was the sole survivor. He said many people tried to hang onto the inflatable boat until it rose. A French fisherman found their bodies a few hundred miles away from France’s coast 12 hours later. Although a rescue effort was started, the bodies of the two men weren’t found.
This incident exacerbated tensions that have existed between London and Paris for months, over disputes such as Channel crossings or post-Brexit fish rights.
Britain has accused France of failing to stop migrants illegally crossing the Narrow Sea, despite promising to pay Paris £54million in installments to increase beach patrols along its northern coastline.
Jean Castex, French Prime Minister, will send Boris Johnson today proposals for a balanced agreement between the UK’s EU and UK.
But France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin launched yet another attack on the UK and said discussions could take place ‘very quickly’ – and only then, if Britain stopped engaging in ‘double-speak’ and entered negotiations in a ‘serious spirit’.
After the French Prime Minister had sent an open letter outlining a plan of action to crack down on those who smuggle asylum seekers into Britain, Emmanuel Macron disqualified Priti Patel as Home Secretary from her crisis talks.
Michel Barnier, a former EU negotiator and diplomat, accused London of violating French sovereignty. He even asked Paris to end its treaty border with London.
Over 26,500 migrants arrived on UK shores in 2016 compared with 8,410 immigrants arriving at the end of 2020.
This is the very first photo of Calais’ flimsy, dangerous dinghy. It sank killing 27.
Up to 50 people were supposed to board two boats ahead of the fatal voyage – but one vessel suffered engine trouble, those stuck in camps in France claimed. It was claimed that the gun-toting group gathered all the migrants in one boat rather than curtail their trip which could have brought them many thousands of pounds.
A policeman inspects the beach close to Wimereux (France) on November 25, 2021
Smugglers threatened to shoot migrants, including bride-to-be Mariam Nouri Dargalayi (pictured with fiance), unless they boarded the doomed dinghy that went down in Channel
With the new arrivals, the total of those who arrived in the UK for this month is now more than 6,002. This surpasses the September record of 3,879. The record breaking 25,772 totals this year.
An ex-Labour Cabinet minister accused of blaming the Channel crisis on Brexit, and appeared to side with President Macron in their battle for words.
David Miliband is the chief executive at the International Rescue Mission. He said that Johnson’s letter addressed to French President was foolish. Former Foreign Secretary and supporter of the Remain campaign during the 2016 referendum said that the crisis was a ‘graphic demonstration’ of the meanings Brexit.
He stated that the French government had done a terrible thing by disinviting Britain to the talks. Because of its importance, the UK should be part.
“But, the Government was very unwise to send a letter to President Macron an hour after Prime Minister Macron spoke. This could easily be read as a plot to anger President Macron. While you can argue that it was unfair for him to be furious, it wasn’t wise to infuriate his feelings. We’ll have to pay the price for Brexit.
Miliband claimed that the UK had the power to send certain asylum seekers to the EU before Britain joined the EU.
He said, “That doesn’t exist” and added that this is one reason why we will continue to negotiate Brexit for some time.
Father of Channel migrant victim 1 has claimed that France allowed ‘butchers to kill innocent victims’.
Baran Nouri Hamadamin, one of 27 victims drowned in a boat accident six miles from Calais. The incident occurred during severe stormy conditions. The newly engaged student had travelled through Germany and France to join her fiancé in the UK, paying human-traffickers to take her across the Narrow Sea.
Damian Hinds, Home Office Minister, defended Johnson’s Letter. He told Radio 4’s Today program: “Nobody is suggesting breaching sovereignty. The Prime Minister’s Letter proposes doing things that go beyond what we have done to date.
He continued: “The tone and collaboration of the letter are exceptional, they absolutely acknowledge everything that the French government has been doing, and that its a common challenge. But now, especially prompted by the terrible tragedy, I believe we need to go even further. We must deepen our partnerships, expand what we do and come up with new, creative solutions.
Nuri Mohammed Amin Nuri Hamadamin spoke from Soran in northern Iraq. He urged President Emmanuel Macron that people-smugglers stop treating people like animals.
Shakar Ali (25), and Harem Pirrot (23), who were born in Iraq as neighbors and moved to the UK together, are thought to be onboard the dinghy
Friend of Shakar and Harem Sanger Ahmed also told of his fears for two other Iraqi Kurds – Hassan, in his late twenties, and Twana Muhammad (pictured), 18, a student
Deniz Ahmed Mohammed’s family (left), said that he left them an ultimatum voicemail in which he pleaded for their prayers. Riaz Mohammed (12) is also believed to be among the dead.
After 27 migrants drowned on their way to the UK, police searched Wimereux beaches in Bolougne.
Miss Hamadamin, a newly engaged student, had travelled through Germany and France to join her fiancé in the UK, paying human-traffickers to take her across the Narrow Sea.
She had been sending Snapchat messages to her fiancé Karzan Asaad before the dinghy began to lose air. As he tracked her phone GPS, the signal went dead just over four hours into the journey – and she tried to reassure him in her last message that rescuers were on the way. Tragically, her body was identified at the French morgue by a relative.
According to Mr Amin, “This is not just a tragedy for me. It’s a tragedy for all of Kurdistan as well as the entire world.” French officials should increase their border security and put an end to the butchers. These aren’t smugglers; they are mafias. That is all I have to ask.
They are using boats not designed for such a purpose. They treat these poor people as if they were animals. Did they forget her human rights! The French government has a responsibility to ensure that these murderers are stopped in order to avoid any further tragedy. It is my hope that our citizens will stop thinking of migrating in similar manners.
The Channel drowned migrants’ friends said people-smugglers had threatened them with violence if they didn’t board the overcrowded dinghy.
Up to 50 people were supposed to board two boats ahead of the fatal voyage – but one vessel suffered engine trouble, those stuck in camps in France claimed. The gun-toting gang reportedly gathered the migrants onto one boat to stop them from making the dangerous trip, which would have earned them thousands of pounds.
These were the chilling details that emerged when more victims were listed among those who died in the Calais tragedy.
France suggests that talks with Britain could resume, but this is Paris’s most recent suggestion.
A UK government source said it appeared to be a ‘positive’ move after the diplomatic row which erupted following the capsize last week of a migrant boat with the loss of 27 lives.
A source said to The Times that they are ready to discuss the matter, just as we have always done. Although we won’t be able to provide details at this time, we’re looking forward to these conversations.
French President Emmanuel Macron was furious when Johnson posted a tweet calling for French and French joint patrols of French beaches. He also called for the return to France migrants who cross the Channel safely.
Macron claimed that it wasn’t a serious approach to negotiation. Darmanin however said that Monday was a day when the two countries should work together in solving a problem.
He said that “From now on there is no double-speak” and that we could discuss with a serious mind and our private conversations correspond to our public ones, so the French government was ready to resume talks with Great Britain very soon.
According to Mr Darmanin, the Castex proposals could open legal pathways to Britain for asylum seekers as well as to unaccompanied minors who wish to live with their relatives.
He said France would not allow the practice of returning boats to sea and added that this was a red line for France’s government.
Over the Internet, Mr Johnson will be able to meet with Alexander de Croo (Belgian prime minister), in order to discuss European issues.
Downing Street maintains its belief that the only deterrent to migration to the Channel is a returned agreement. This was stated by Johnson in his letter.