Report into worst Channel migrant disaster finds a crucial wrong assumption hampered rescue efforts
An official report into the deaths of at least 27 migrants using a “wholly unsuitable” boat in the English Channel has said the response team in Dover was “insufficient” to react, “foreseeable” problems were not recognised and French and British teams failed to share information properly.
The incident, in November 2021, was the deadliest involving a migrant boat trying to cross the Channel. The victims included a pregnant woman and three children.
The report, carried out by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, says that 33 passengers had been put on a boat that was “entirely unsuitable for the intended voyage and number of people on board”.
The report also says migrants phoning from boats had been told “to claim high levels of distress when in UK waters in the hope of expediting rescue” and that this “had the potential to mask genuine distress”.
It also suggests that coastguard personnel may have developed a “mental threshold” of assuming that people were in “less severe peril” than they claimed.
However, relatives of those involved have criticised the report, saying it is vague, ambiguous, lacking in detail and does not hold anybody to account.
The government has announced it will hold a separate inquiry into the events surrounding the sinking of the boat, describing it as a full and independent investigation.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said it would offer “families of the victims the clarity they deserve”.
Report identifies tragic mistakes
Only two of those on the boat survived. The bodies of the other four have never been found, but they are presumed to be dead, meaning that it is almost certain that 31 people died on the night of 23-24 November, 2021.
The report is separate from France’s investigation into the disaster, which has now seen preliminary charges laid against five emergency service officials for allegedly failing to assist people in danger.
This British report says that “despite extensive requests, the investigation was not granted access to any information held by French authorities”.
It finds that the British response was “hampered” by a combination of poor visibility, a high number of boats that were crossing due to good weather, and the fact that there was no aircraft available to carry out a surveillance mission across the English Channel.
This meant that the search and rescue response was based on phone calls from migrants on boats, as well as information from French authorities.
Reconciling the information was “extremely challenging”, the report says, due to the high number of calls, often coming from people on the same boat, and the difficulty in distinguishing one boat from another.
In the end, having established that a boat was sinking with more than 30 people on board, three migrant boats were located in UK waters during the ensuing search, leading to a wrong assumption that the people in peril had already been saved.
“The investigation found that there was an assumption that the first boat to be found was the stricken craft,” the report concludes. “Events moved on and the plight of the genuinely stricken craft became masked by the increasingly busy task of dealing with crossing events.”
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Migrants being rescued in November 2021
‘I am finished’
The full report is more than a hundred pages long and presents a stark account of the accident and the hectic conversations between British authorities, French counterparts and migrants.
During the night, the boat was codenamed “Charlie” by the British and Migrant8 by the French.
The report details various calls for help from passengers who call in on their phones, with one screaming down the line and saying “I am finished”.
Another call is full of shouting and noise, saying that the boat has broken.
The report says call handlers seemed unsure as to whether they were dealing with another boat in peril – or simply new reports about a vessel they already knew about.
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It details how a helicopter pilot had to be woken up when it was agreed that a fixed-wing aircraft couldn’t fly.
The report also recounts a call received from a passenger saying that everyone is in the water and that they are “finished”.
A message sent to one of the passengers at 3.33am was not delivered, leading the report to conclude that the passengers went into the water between 3.12am and 3.33am.
Other inflatable migrant boats in the area were contacted and rescued, leading to confusion as to whether these were “Charlie” or simply similar vessels.
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Sister of victim ‘not satisfied at all’
The report says there have been significant changes in the way authorities respond to small boat crossings since the disaster, and notes a number of reviews.
But it does call for greater coordination with the French to avoid “confusion and error” and also for UK authorities to improve surveillance.
However, relatives of those involved in the sinking have criticised the report.
Zana Mamand’s brother Twana was on the boat. His body has never been recovered.
“This report is not thorough and it is very ambiguous,” he told Sky News. “The French report is much better – it gave verbatim accounts of what happened, and what was said, and it has led to action.
“This one is much more vague. There is very little detail of the conversations or the decisions.
“I am not satisfied at all. The British authorities seem to have spent two years on a report that achieves very little.
“The families want answers – I want to know what effort was put into finding my brother’s body.
“I have been asking this for two years and I have never received an answer.”
UK
Masked burglars ‘raid’ Windsor Castle grounds ‘while William, Kate and children slept at home on estate’
Masked burglars have stolen farm vehicles from the Windsor Castle estate while members of the Royal Family are believed to have been asleep nearby.
Two men scaled a 6ft fence on the night of 13 October and used a stolen truck to break through a security gate, The Sun first reported.
The pair then fled with a pick-up and a quad bike that were stored in a barn.
The King and Queen were not in residence.
But the Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three children George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Louis were believed to have been in their home, Adelaide Cottage, on the estate, according to The Sun.
The family moved there in 2022.
In a statement, Thames Valley Police said: “At around 11.45pm on Sunday 13 October, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor.
“Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area.
“No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.”
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On Christmas Day 2021, a man climbed a fence at Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow and claimed he wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth II.
Jaswant Singh Chail was handed a nine-year custodial sentence for treason, possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill.
The UK is braced for “disruptive snow” as yellow weather warnings cover large parts of the country until Tuesday – with the Met Office saying there is the “potential” for the alerts to be “escalated”.
The forecaster has warned up to 20cm of snow may accumulate in the worst affected areas as the country experiences its “first taste of winter”.
The Met Office has also told people to expect ice, cold temperatures and wintry showers this week.
Check the forecast in your area
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for much of the north of the country – covering areas in the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Wales and the north of England – from 7pm on Monday night to 10am on Tuesday morning.
Those in the impacted areas have been told power cuts are possible and mobile phone coverage might be affected.
The Met Office has said there is a “slight chance” some rural communities could be cut off and that bus and train services may be delayed or cancelled.
People are also warned to be careful not to slip or fall on icy surfaces.
The Met Office has said there will be bright spells across northern and eastern areas throughout today, but rain in the south and west will gradually spread northeastwards and turn to snow over northern hills.
Parts of the UK are experiencing their ‘first taste of winter’, says the Met Office. File pic: PA
Tom Morgan, Met Office meteorologist, said: “We could see some disruptive snow in the Pennine regions, in particular, the Peak District as well, especially Monday night, but we could well see some impacts lasting on until Tuesday morning’s rush hour.
“Even down to lower levels, we could well see some snow as well, so quite a bit of disruption possible by Tuesday morning, and then the week ahead is likely to stay cold nationwide, a windy day on Tuesday, and then winter showers through the week ahead.”
Mr Morgan said that despite a “mild” start to the month, the cold conditions are more typical of “mid-winter to late-winter”.
“What we can say is that it’s going to be very cold for the time of year, there will be widespread overnight frosts, and a few locations where there’s snow on the ground,” he continued.
The yellow weather warnings in place across the UK
Meanwhile, a yellow snow and ice weather warning that came into force at 4pm on Sunday will end at 11am this morning.
The warning covers the northern tip of Scotland and people there have been told there may be icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.
The Met Office has said there is “potential” for both yellow warnings to be “escalated”.
In southern England, a typical maximum temperature for this time of year is 11C (52F), but daytime highs for the week ahead are forecast to be around 5C (41F), while some parts of Scotland will reach “only just above freezing”, Mr Morgan said.
The meteorologist said the public can best prepare for the wintry weather by checking their cars are suitable for icy and potentially snowy conditions and to take extra supplies including food, blankets and a fully charged mobile phone with them on journeys.
He added there were “likely” to be changes to the weather warnings in the coming days, and that “winter flurries” could be seen in the south of England later in the week.
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Despite the cold conditions, the “whole of the UK” will enjoy more sunshine this week, the meteorologist added.
He said: “There’ll be some snow showers in the peripheries of the UK, particularly northern Scotland, and down the east and the west coast, but if you live inland and you live in the south, there’ll be lots of sparkly blue skies on the most days through Tuesday to Friday.”
It comes as a cold weather alert issued by the UK Health Security Agency, which was introduced at 9am on Sunday, will be in place until 9am on Thursday.
It covers a large area of England, north of Northhampton. The alert is triggered when there is a risk that healthcare services might face extra pressure and is designed to prepare those who are “particularly vulnerable” and “likely to struggle to cope”.
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