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16-year-old boy found dead on beach after disappearing at sea, says French minister
A 16-year-old Sudanese boy who disappeared at sea has been found dead on a beach near Calais, a French minister has said.
Marlene Schiappa, who is in charge of citizenship in France’s government, said the teenager was found on the beach of Sangatte on Wednesday morning.
The tragedy comes as a record number of the perilous journeys across the Channel have been attempted during the recent hot weather.
Immense tristesse: un adolescent de 16 ans, migrant soudanais disparu en mer cette nuit, a été retrouvé mort sur la plage de Sangatte ce matin.
Ce drame insupportable nous mobilise encore + avec @GDarmanin contre les passeurs qui profitent de la détresse d’êtres humains !
— 🇫🇷 MarleneSchiappa (@MarleneSchiappa) August 19, 2020
Despite her draconian pledge to make the route “unviable”, home secretary Priti Patel described the death as “an upsetting and tragic loss of a young life”.
“This horrendous incident serves as a brutal reminder of the abhorrent criminal gangs and people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people,” she added.
“Working together we are determined to stop them.”
Shiappa also said the death highlighted the need to tackle the smugglers.
“Immense sadness: A 16-year-old Sudanese migrant who disappeared in the sea last night was found dead in the beach in Sangatte this morning,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile in Dover, children were among dozens of people who arrived on Wednesday morning.
More than 50 people were taken into the Kent port on Wednesday morning aboard a lifeboat and a Border Force vessel.
The fresh arrivals came amid urgent discussions on where to house children who travel to the UK without family.
It emerged earlier in the week that any new unaccompanied asylum-seeking children would be left with the Border Force after Kent County Council announced it had reached capacity.
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His death lies squarely on France’s shoulders.
If they processed their claims instead of forcing them into the sea, then this would not have happened.
According to the BBC,
“Bridget Chapman, of Kent Refugee Action Network, said that the government was wrong to focus only on the criminals organising crossings, adding that reports the boy had pushed off in a makeshift boat made it “likely that people smugglers weren’t even involved”.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-53835374
And Sky News reports,
“It is believed the pair were trying to get across the Channel in a boat by themselves, bypassing any smugglers who charge high prices to get migrants across.”
https://news.sky.com/story/sudanese-migrant-16-found-dead-on-beach-in-calais-12052342