Migrant deaths: Are we seeing new form of crime after rival group pushed their way on to boat?
Plenty of people have died on small boats trying to cross the Channel. But this was different.
The people who perished in the waters off Wimereux died not just because of the greed of people smugglers, or the inadequacy of their boat. This is a story about violence.
What really killed these people was a hijacking, and by the increasingly dangerous and volatile atmosphere that lingers over the lives of migrants in northern France who are trying to get to Britain.
Often we have heard stories of feuds and of weapons being used between rival groups in camps. Now, it seems that a sense of violent rivalry has spread to the beaches.
We have been told extraordinary details of what happened in the moments before three men, a woman and a young girl died in the cold, dark waters within sight of the promenade.
There were, so we’re told, around 50 people who had paid for a place on board the boat and, as is normal with these crossings, helped to carry it down the beach in Wimereux before getting to the waterfront.
These men rushed onto the boat and made it to the UK
At this point, another group of people emerged from the shadows and pushed their way on to the boat, threatening those on board with sticks and taking over, a man in a balaclava manhandling the controls of the engine.
Nobody was thrown off but, as the vessel left the shore, it now had 112 people on board.
To put that into context, I would imagine these boats could probably safely accommodate a maximum of 20 people.
Normally, packed by smugglers, they leave northern France with around 50 or even 60 on board. Never have I heard of a boat having more than 100 people on board.
So with the boat presumably now desperately low in the water, horribly overloaded, unbalanced and, almost certainly, in the hands of someone with no experience of piloting a passenger vessel, it set off.
But the waters around here are treacherous, dotted with sandbars that the locals know, and the amateurs can’t see.
The wallowing dinghy hit one of them and shuddered to a halt, only a few hundred metres from the shore.
Some of the passengers stood up, either in shock or else to remonstrate. A couple fell into the water.
When the French authorities arrived, they took two people from the water and reported finding “several people” who were unconscious and in “grave difficulty”.
What’s clear is that the two people who went into the water drowned – believed to be the woman and the young girl.
The clothes of those who died in the incident
What we don’t know is how the other three victims – three men who appear not to have left the boat – ended up dying.
The local authorities, when asked for more details, say they are investigating.
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Some migrants managed to continue their journey to the UK. Pic: Prefecture Maritime du Nord et de la Manche via AP
Host of questions to be answered
This begs important questions – are we seeing a new form of crime within the realm of people-smuggling?
Was this attack, where one group hijacks another group’s dinghy, a one-off, or the precursor to a new, and dangerous, form of conflict?
What will be the reprisals that follow? And – if they didn’t drown – how exactly did those people die within around 20 minutes of leaving shore?
None of this has escaped the notice of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which is monitoring developments.
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The NCA is surely aware that the very people who charged on to the boat are now in Britain, having refused to leave the vessel when the authorities were recovering the dead and injured, along with dozens of the original passengers, who now wanted to get off.
Suspected migrants brought to Dover by the Border Force.
Pic: PA
“These tragic events demonstrate just how dangerous these crossings are and the callous nature of those who organise them,” said a statement from the NCA.
“Our thoughts are with those affected. The NCA will be working with Kent Police and Border Force to support the French investigation into these deaths.”
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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