Violence soaring as three migrants fight for one place
THREE migrants are fighting it out for one space on every small boat crossing the Channel amid a soaring rise in violence.
Dozens who haven’t paid people smugglers are storming on to boats as they set sail from French beaches and demanding they be allowed to join the journey.
In many cases the desperate gangs are armed with knives, guns and other weapons.
The tragic crossing on Tuesday that saw five die, including three men, a woman and a seven-yearold girl, had an unprecedented 122 people on board.
It launched off Wimereux, outside Calais, but it was the impact of the hijacking which reportedly killed the victims.
Boulogne prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said: “At the time of the departure, between 40 to 50 migrants reportedly came out of the dunes and forced themselves on to the boat, crushing many people already on board.
“At the same time, some continued to push the boat out to sea, which resulted in more than 100 migrants on the boat, far from the shores.”
Police have charged two men with immigration offences after the latest tragic migrant crossing. A third is under investigation.
Officials say triple the amount of people who have paid are trying to board boats. Violence often breaks out as migrants fight for a place and the overcrowding makes the perilous trip even more dangerous.
And they fear dozens more
‘We fear dozens more will die due to tactics’
people will die as a result of the new tactics.
Normally the boats, fit for around 20 people, have up to 50 on board.
One source in Calais said: “Boats are increasingly being launched miles down the coast from Calais to avoid police detection. Groups of migrants spring into life and hijack them to get on for free. Tens of thousands of pounds are at stake. It gets violent and very heated.
“There’s now occasions where three migrants are battling it out for one space.
“It’s very dangerous. Those hijacking the boats are often young and fit men.
“We fear dozens will die this summer because of the hijackings, the violence and the overcrowded conditions they create.”
On Thursday, one migrant was seriously injured after being shot during a gang dispute believed to be over the crossings.
French police are investigating the incident in the “jungle” close to the town of Mardyck, near Dunkirk, in which Kalashnikovtype weapons were used.
● AN AIR sea rescue operation was launched yesterday after a migrant boat with more than 50 people on board ran aground on a notorious sandbank off the Kent coast.
A number of people went into the water after the inflatable dinghy hit Goodwin Sands off Walmer, near Deal, at 7.45am.
The stranded migrants were then taken into the Port of Dover immigration centre.
No one was injured.