At least 12 dead after boat with dozens of migrants ‘rips open’ in Channel, mayor says
At least 12 people have died after a boat with dozens of migrants tore apart in the English Channel, a local mayor has said.
Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel, a French coastal town being used in a rescue operation, said “the bottom of the boat ripped open”.
The French coastguard said more than 50 people had been rescued after a vessel got into difficulties on Tuesday morning.
Local authorities said several people needed emergency treatment and a temporary medical post has been set up at the port at Boulogne-sur-Mer, about 28 miles (45km) southwest of Calais.
A spokesperson for the French maritime prefecture said helicopters and boats have been used in the search for survivors.
Resources deployed included helicopters and vessels from the French customs and Navy, as well as boats from the SNSM, the French equivalent of the RNLI.
Another media outlet France 3 had initially said “at least 100 migrants” were on board at 11.30am (10.30am UK time).
France’s Interior minister Gerald Darmanin is expected in Pas-de-Calais later this afternoon.
Posting on X, he described the incident as “terrible”, adding that “all government resources [have been] mobilised to find the missing and take care of the victims”.
Le Portel is reportedly where the boat was launched.
The boat was reportedly launched near this beach, La Plage du Portel
At least 30 migrants have died or gone missing while trying to cross the Channel this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Meanwhile figures show at least 2,109 migrants have tried to make the trip in small boats in the past seven days, according to the latest Home Office data.
In the Channel, an RNLI lifeboat was taking part in separate operations, transporting suspected migrants into Dover on Tuesday. Pic: PA
Separately on Tuesday, an RNLI lifeboat docked in Dover with suspected migrants on board after being deployed to the English Channel.
It is not currently believed those people were rescued from the incident off the coast of France.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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