A female migrant is feared dead after allegedly being deliberately thrown into the Channel.
The woman was reportedly thrown into the water on a packed small boat trying to cross from France on Tuesday morning.
Forty-eight hours later and there is no sign of her, with police fearing she has drowned.
The alleged attack is believed to have happened in the Clipon jetty in Loon-Plage, northern France, around 30 miles east of Calais, according to local media.
Over 500 migrants arrived in the UK on Tuesday alone as border forces struggle to manage the crisis, with the total now pushing 20,000 for 2024.
File photo. Migrants walk in the water to board a smuggler’s boat on the north coast of France
File. Nearly 20,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats since the start of the year
French emergency services have launched a huge search and rescue operation to find the woman ‘thrown’ from a small boat – but she is still missing.
A police spokesman said the migrants who remained in the area did not cooperate with their investigation when they arrived.
He said: ‘The authorities do not know if she was able to return to the jetty by her own means or if she drowned.
‘Investigators are leaning towards the latter option.’
French border police have launched a probe and have urged witnesses to come forward.
Authorities came under fire last week when video showed border guards ramming their speedboat into an overloaded migrant vessel as it departed from Calais.
The migrants made it less than 100ft into the sea before being spotted by a French board guard unit in a speedboat on August 19.
Flashing blue and red lights, the speedboat made a couple of close passes by the dinghy, warning it to turn around and head for shore.
When the dinghy continued on, the coastguard craft pulled up alongside before appearing to ram the sorely overloaded migrant vessel.
Migrant crossings have risen through the summer, in keeping with yearly trends. Last year, a total of 29.437 people arrived in the UK in small boats – down from 45,755 in 2022.
In the year ending June 2024, Afghans were the main nationality crossing the channel, followed by Iranians, Vietnamese and Turks.
Many of the arrivals are fleeing war or persecution from oppressive regimes, but run significant risks making the perilous journey.
Some 25 migrants have died attempting to cross the Channel this year, according to French officials.
Flashing blue and red lights, the speedboat made a couple of close passes by the dinghy, warning it to turn around and head for shore
When the dinghy continued on, the coastguard craft pulled up alongside before appearing to ram the sorely overloaded migrant vessel
A Home Office spokesperson said last week: ‘We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.
‘The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new Border Security Command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit.’
Labour is said to be in the final stages of recruiting a new boss to lead the Border Security Command.
They will report directly to the Home Secretary, and be paid up to £200,000 to provide ‘strategic direction to work across agencies, drawing together the work of the National Crime Agency (NCA), intelligence agencies, police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force’.
Around 100 people have already moved into the command HQ based in the Home Office, establishing the remit and strategic direction of the new command.
