Deadliest English Channel crossing in history 'a terrible human tragedy', inquiry hears
An inquiry into the deadliest Channel crossing in history has heard that, despite multiple distress calls from people on board the boat, "no-one came to their rescue".
An independent probe has vowed to find out the truth of what happened when an inflatable boat, thought to be carrying at least 33 people, capsized in November 2021.
The names of 26 people confirmed dead and four people missing were read out as the inquiry opened on Monday. Another body was found but never identified.
French authorities believe 33 people were on board - including 13 women and eight children.
There may also have been other small children who did not appear on the list of the missing, the inquiry said. There were two survivors.
In the opening statement from the inquiry led by Sir Ross Cranston, Rory Phillips KC said one of the important questions about the "terrible human tragedy" is why passengers were left in the water for more than 12 hours after distress calls to UK authorities were made.
5:43
The first distress call was received from a 16-year-old Iraqi Kurdish boy, Mubin Rizghar Hussein - who told the operator "everything was finished" in the "harrowing" call at around 1.30am on 24 November 2021.
The boy, who is known to be one of the victims, called again at 2.30am and said everyone on board would die. He was told to stop calling and that help was on its way.
A Border Force vessel, Valiant, was operating search and rescues in UK waters that night but it did not leave until 2.22am and took an hour to get to the last known location of the migrant boat, known as "Charlie".
It did not find Charlie and mistakenly recorded another boat it attended as the vessel despite the fact it "bore no resemblance" to the sinking incident described on the calls.
A helicopter was also in operation that night. It did not find Charlie and was stood down.
When Valiant returned to Dover and the helicopter returned to its base, "the incident was marked as resolved and closed", Mr Phillips said.
"At the time… all those times human beings who had been on board the sinking small boat were in the water and the vast majority were drowning," he continued.
Another distress call made at 3.11am may be the last received from the incident. Mr Phillips said there was no attempt to receive an updated position from the caller.
At around 12.30pm, the first bodies were found floating in the water by a French fishing boat, the inquiry heard.
"It is said one of the victims died just half an hour before rescue," Mr Phillips said. "The question if loss of life was avoidable is not an academic one in this case."
A report from a cold water expert concluded while some people may have drowned immediately, it is likely the majority of victims died over a long period.
Most drowned when they could no longer hold on to the wreckage, through loss of consciousness or cardiac arrest due to hypothermia, Professor Michael Tipton said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
20 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Titillating tome as controversial as Lady Chatterley's Mollusc
His son used to help him wash windows during the summer holidays, so he was, of course, known as Shammy Davis Junior. Red turns bread A blatant example has been identified by Diary correspondent Alasdair Sinclair, who has uncovered a report stating that the Red Cross and the Red Crescent are to merge. Says Alasdair: 'It's alleged that a joint committee charged with managing the amalgamation has come up with a name for the combined body which, while reminiscent of the traditional titles of both societies, is shorn of any political association or religious imagery, and is in accordance with modern tastes… the Coloured Croissant.' Mind your language DELIGHTED linguist Sally Haggerty says: 'Learning French has encouraged me to live in the moment, because I currently can't conjugate any other verb tense.' The name game RESPECTED American author Edmund White died recently, which reminds Edmund McGonigle, the owner of the Voltaire & Rousseau bookshop in Glasgow's Otago Lane, of the time the literary lion stopped him in the street to ask directions to a restaurant. McGonigle admitted he couldn't assist, then asked if he happened to be chatting to Edmund White, man of letters. Receiving an affirmative answer, our correspondent announced that he, too, was an Edmund. At which point the famous novelist revealed that he came from a long line of Edmunds. 'I mentioned this later to a friend called Bill, who had German ancestry,' says McGonigle. 'He replied that he came from a long line of Willys, which gave me pause for thought…'
Leader Live
2 days ago
- Leader Live
Property in Rossett, Wrexham up for sale for £550,000
The property in Burton Green, Rossett, is up for sale with Fisher German for £550,000. The home boasts four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a spacious kitchen and living room area. A spokesperson for Fisher German said: "A delightful bungalow offering a sense of light and space, located in an idyllic setting within the hamlet of Burton Green. Extensive parking and garaging, compliments the spacious interior. "A canopy entrance gives way to the enclosed porch, in-turn opening into a large and welcoming reception hall. The hub of the house is the kitchen with space for a large breakfast table, with twin patio doors opening to the pretty courtyard garden. The kitchen is fitted with a range of gloss cabinets under quartz work surfaces, with a broad range of integral appliances including a range cooker. "To the rear of the house is an exceptional living room with oak plank flooring, an open fireplace within a feature brick chimneypiece and a glazed bay, with French doors to the courtyard. PROPERTY "Occupying the northern wing is the bedroom accommodation, including a principal bedroom enjoying a large en suite shower room and French doors lead to the rear lawned garden. There are three further bedrooms. The family bathroom is fitted with an oversize shower cubicle and a 2-piece white contemporary suite, fully tiled and includes a chrome heated towel radiator. Also within the northern wing, is a utility with adjoining WC and a study. "A gated entrance opens onto an expansive tarmacadam driveway, affording parking for numerous vehicles, in turn leading to a double garage. To the front of the house is an exquisite boxwood knot garden, neatly clipped. "To the south of the house, is a delightful courtyard garden, flagged in natural stone, with a variety of established shrubs including camelia, fig, bamboo and boxwood. There is an adjoining enclosed courtyard with garden stores and a workshop. To the rear of the house is a lawned garden, with views across open farmland."
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Veterans attend Normandy commemorations on 81st anniversary of D-Day
Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of onlookers attended the commemorations, which included parachute jumps, flyovers, remembrance ceremonies, parades and historical re-enactments. Many were there to cheer the ever-dwindling number of surviving veterans in their late 90s and older. All remembered the thousands who died. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth commemorated the anniversary of the D-Day landings, in which American soldiers played a leading role, with veterans at the American cemetery overlooking the shore in the village of Colleville-sur-Mer. The June 6 1944 invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Hitler's defences in western Europe. A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle – and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities – killed around 20,000 French civilians between June and August 1944. The exact German casualties are unknown but historians estimate between 4,000 and 9,000 men were killed, wounded or missing during the D-Day invasion alone. 'The heroism, honour and sacrifice of the Allied forces on D-Day will always resonate with the US armed forces and our allies and partners across Europe,' said Lieutenant General Jason T Hinds, deputy commander of US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. 'Let us remember those who flew and fell. Let us honour those who survived and came home to build a better world. 'Let us ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain by meeting today's challenges with the same resolve, the same clarity of purpose and the same commitment to freedom.' Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day. Of those, 73,000 were from the United States and 83,000 from Britain and Canada. Forces from several other countries were also involved, including French troops fighting with General Charles de Gaulle. The Allies faced around 50,000 German forces. More than two million Allied soldiers, sailors, pilots, medics and other people from a dozen countries were involved in the overall Operation Overlord, the battle to wrest western France from Nazi control that started on D-Day.
