Channel Mass Drowning: UK Orders Probe

The Government of the United Kingdom(UK), has ordered an independent inquiry into a migrant mass drowning in the English Channel.

At least 27 people including a pregnant woman and three children died when a boat sank in 2021.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said an inquiry would look at the circumstances of the deaths to give victims’ families the clarity they deserved.

It comes after an investigation into the UK’s deadliest migrant boat incident made two recommendations.

A report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said the UK’s emergency response had been hampered by the lack of dedicated aircraft to carry out aerial surveillance of the Dover Strait.

Andrew Moll, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, said multiple boats had attempted to cross the Dover Strait on the night of the sinking 24 November and many had made distress calls.

It had, he said, been “extremely challenging” for the coastguard to understand how many boats were attempting to cross, their locations and levels of distress.

Moll added: “As the pace of dealing with located migrant boats increased, the plight of the stricken craft became masked and, sadly, the victims were not found until spotted by a passing fishing vessel later that day.

BBC