5 migrants die in attempt to cross Channel as Sunak lauds 'stop the boats' bill passage

Five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France to the UK on an overcrowded boat on Tuesday, the local prefecture said.

The tragedy occurred within hours of the UK's upper house of parliament passing legislation allowing the UK government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda rather than stay in the UK for processing.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted that nothing will prevent him from sending migrants to Rwanda as his government bids to stop them traveling in small, often flimsy, vessels to the UK.

About 110 migrants were crowded onto the boat when panic broke out, local authorities said. There was no immediate confirmation on how many people had been rescued or could be missing.

"The provisional death toll is five people died: three men, a woman and a child," an official at the prefecture said. "After becoming initially stuck on the shore, the boat set out to sea again. A crowd movement apparently occurred in the overloaded boat, causing several victims."

The coast guard was still carrying out search-and-rescue operations at sea, a spokesperson said, after what the official called a "busy" morning, with several crossing attempts.

"These tragedies have to stop," UK interior minister James Cleverly said on X in response to the news.

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Tens of thousands of migrants - many fleeing wars and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia - have reached the UK in recent years by crossing the English Channel in small boats on risky journeys organized by people-smuggling gangs.

The people smugglers typically overload the boats, leaving them barely afloat and at risk of being lashed by the waves as they try to reach British shores. 

READ MORE: What are the UK's laws on people-smuggling?

The UK government has been seeking for two years to deport some of those arriving in the hope it would stop the flow of migrants, with the government arguing the crossings risk lives and enrich criminal gangs.

"Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives," Sunak said in a statement.

Legal challenges

Once the bill has passed into law - expected later this week - the government will be free to start detaining asylum seekers, a move that will trigger further legal challenges by charities, campaigners and unions who argue that Rwanda is not a safe destination.

Stopping the flow is a priority for the government, but critics say the plan to deport people to Rwanda rather than handle asylum seekers at home is inhumane. They cite concerns about the East African country's own human rights record and the risk asylum seekers may be sent back to countries where they face torture.

Sunak's new law states some existing UK human rights statutes will not apply to the scheme and Rwanda must be treated by British judges as a safe destination, in a bid to override a Supreme Court ruling which declared the scheme unlawful.

It also limits individuals' options for an appeal to only exceptional cases.

Sunak said on Monday that the first flights would take off in 10 to 12 weeks' time. He said an airfield was on standby, slots were booked for flights, 500 staff were ready to escort migrants and courts had been reserved to process appeals.

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