Migrant relatives sue French state over 2021 Channel tragedy

NYSE - LSE

CMSD	-0.15%	19.86	$
BTI	-1.66%	60.9	$
BP	-0.61%	47.59	$
AZN	-1.47%	183.88	$
GSK	-0.88%	48.7	$
RIO	-1.36%	81.62	$
BCE	-0.63%	20.54	$
NGG	-1.92%	82.83	$
RBGPF	0%	70.49	$
CMSC	0.15%	19.85	$
RYCEF	-0.24%	16.92	$
RELX	-2.69%	39.4	$
BCC	-0.25%	74.81	$
VOD	-0.19%	15.62	$
JRI	0.88%	11.36	$

Migrant relatives sue French state over 2021 Channel tragedy / Photo: Sameer Al-DOUMY - AFP/File

Migrant relatives sue French state over 2021 Channel tragedy

BOULEVARD 15.03.2024

The family of an Ethiopian man who was among 27 migrants who drowned in 2021 when their boat capsized in the Channel filed a complaint Friday suing the French state in the first such case over the disaster, two groups said.

Text size:

Utopia 56, a group defending the rights of migrants, and the French Human Rights League (LDH) were among the plaintiffs.

They said it was the first such complaint against the authorities over the November 24, 2021, disaster, the worst accident in the sea strait since it became a key route for migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia attempting to reach England from France.

The wife and two children of Fikeru Shiferaw, an Ethiopian who hoped to seek asylum in the United Kingdom, filed the request for damages with a court in the northern city of Lille, they said in a statement.

LDH president Patrick Baudouin said they were taking part to remind people "that these tragedies have a universal reach that we could remedy by ending deadly policies of non-assistance at sea".

Nikolai Posner, of Utopia 56, said they hoped the families of other victims would join the lawsuit.

A pregnant woman and three children were among the 27 people killed when the inflatable boat they were travelling on started to take in water and capsized. Two people survived and four remain missing.

French authorities have been accused of failing to respond to around 15 calls for help, and prosecutors last year charged seven military personnel for failing to assist persons in danger.

Le Monde newspaper on Friday said the French inquiry showed that a French military boat patrolling the waters was not monitoring Channel 16, the international distress frequency, on which the British rescue centre had issued "Mayday" calls to help the boat.

Its crew also ignored three distress signals that did make it through via their radio, with one officer saying after the coordinates of the sinking boat were shared that it was on "the English" side, it said.

Passengers, a large part of whom were Iraqi Kurds, contacted France's Channel rescue centre at 1:48 am on November 24 to say their vessel was deflating and its engine had stopped, Le Monde reported last year.

They sent their locations via WhatsApp around 15 minutes later.

According to one transcript of a telephone conversation seen by AFP, a migrant told the French coastguard on the phone: "Please help... I'm in the water!"

"Yes -- but you are in English waters," the coastguard replied.

P.Hernandez--AT

Featured

Cosmos Health's Amazon UK Business Surpasses $2 Million in TTM Sales, Up 90%, with a 23% Net Profit Margin; Expects Sales to Grow Approximately 72% to $3.9 Million Over the Next Twelve Months

Arizona Tribune - Migrant relatives sue French state over 2021 Channel tragedy

Migrant relatives sue French state over 2021 Channel tragedy

Featured

Cosmos Health's Amazon UK Business Surpasses $2 Million in TTM Sales, Up 90%, with a 23% Net Profit Margin; Expects Sales to Grow Approximately 72% to $3.9 Million Over the Next Twelve Months

Chervon Announces Partnership with Wrestlers in Business Network to Expand Its AMP Talent Program

How Are Your Wound Centers Doing Today? Wound Care Advantage's New AI Huddle Answers Before Clinic Opens

Lexaria Enters a New Pharmaceutical Agreement for DehydraTECH