Four people, including two children aged five and eight, have died after a migrant boat sank off the coast of France, authorities have confirmed.
It brings the total number of migrant deaths since 2018 to 10, and is believed to be the single biggest loss of life during the current migrant crisis. Refugees charity Care4Calais said it was “utterly devastated”.
The four deaths are confirmed to have belonged to a Kurdish-Iranian family. Their names are Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35, Anita, nine, and Armin, six, according to the BBC.
Their 15-month-old son, Artin, is believed to be still missing.
More than a dozen people from the boat have been taken to hospitals in Calais and Dunkirk, according to the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said the UK had offered “every support” to French authorities as they investigate the “terrible incident”. Home secretary Priti Patel said she was “truly saddened” to learn of the “tragic loss of life”.
Patel was strongly criticised earlier this year for suggesting sending in the Navy to stop refugees crossing the Channel, despite the fact the UK’s resettlement scheme has been closed since March – meaning there is no safe, legal route for refugees to reach the UK by other means.
Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley said the refugee community in Calais is “utterly devastated”.
She said: “We are grieving for the victims, we stand in sympathy and solidarity with their families and friends.
“It is cruel and horrifying that this time, young children are among the victims.
“This unnecessary loss of life has to stop. No one should ever feel they have to get into a fragile craft and risk their lives crossing the Channel, least of all vulnerable children.”
She called for the incident to be a “wake-up call” for those in power in the UK and France.
The charity Save the Children echoed her views, saying: “Today’s tragic news must be a wake-up call for both London and Paris to come up with a joint plan that ensures the safety of vulnerable children and families.
“The English Channel must not become a graveyard for children.”
Two people have already died making the perilous journey across the Channel this year, including one earlier this month.
Military resources and civilian boats have been involved in the rescue operation after the vessel was seen in difficulty near Dunkirk.
The people on board are thought to have been trying to cross to Britain despite wind gusts of up to 18mph.
The alarm was raised by the crew of a yacht, who notified search and rescue.
French patrol boats and a helicopter from the Belgian air force were dispatched as well as a fishing boat. The search operation is continuing.
An investigation into the causes of the sinking has been launched by the Dunkirk public prosecutor.
French citizenship minister Marlene Schiappa said she learned of the incident with “great sadness”.
“Despite the resources of the state, which were all mobilised in the SOS operation, the losses are heavy and the final toll is still uncertain,” she said.
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke, who has been outspoken on the issue of Channel crossings, tweeted: “It is terrible that tragedy has struck in the Channel again. People traffickers have no regard for life, no matter how old or young.
“These perilous crossings must be stopped, once and for all, before there is more loss of life in these stormy winter seas.”