At least 27 migrants reported dead after boat sinks off French coast
(CNN)At least 27 migrants have died after a boat capsized in the English Channel, off the coast of Calais, northern France on Wednesday, police sources told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
France's regional maritime prefecture said a search-and-rescue operation for survivors was ongoing in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, and described it as the worst-ever accident in the stretch of water.
The country's sea minister Annick Girardin said French, British and Belgian helicopters were searching for five people still missing.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex described the incident as a "tragedy." "My thoughts are with the many missing and injured, victims of criminal smugglers who exploit their distress and misery," Castex said in a tweet on Wednesday.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin was heading to Calais on Wednesday. He expressed "strong emotions facing the tragedy of the deaths of many migrants after a boat capsized in the English Channel."
"We can never say enough about the criminal nature of the smugglers who organize these crossings," he added in a tweet.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was due to chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in response to the tragedy, his spokesperson said.
On Monday, France's Ministry of Interior announced that it was sending equipment and vehicles worth over 11 million euros as part of an agreement with the United Kingdom, "to secure the coastal strip extending over more than 130 km, from Dunkirk to the Bay of Somme."
It added that "the police and gendarmes will have additional resources to carry out the mission of fighting illegal immigration."
Last week, 243 people were rescued in the English Channel as they tried to cross to the UK.
CNN's Amy Cassidy and Joseph Ataman contributed to this report.
船只在法国海岸沉没后至少有27名移民报告死亡
(CNN) 警方消息人士告诉 CNN 附属机构 BFMTV，周三，一艘船在法国北部加莱海岸外的英吉利海峡倾覆，造成至少 27 名移民死亡。
法国地区海事部门表示，正在加莱海峡对幸存者进行搜救行动，并称这是该海域有史以来最严重的事故。
该国海事部长安妮克·吉拉尔丹说，法国、英国和比利时的直升机正在寻找仍然下落不明的五人。
法国总理让·卡斯特克斯（Jean Castex）将这一事件描述为“悲剧”。卡斯特克斯周三在一条推文中说：“我的心与许多失踪和受伤的人同在，他们是犯罪走私者的受害者，他们利用他们的痛苦和痛苦。”
法国内政部长杰拉尔德·达马宁周三前往加来。他表示“面对一艘船在英吉利海峡倾覆后许多移民死亡的悲剧，他的情绪非常激动。”
“对于组织这些过境点的走私者的犯罪性质，我们永远说得不够，”他在一条推文中补充道。
他的发言人说，英国首相鲍里斯约翰逊将主持眼镜蛇紧急委员会会议以应对这场悲剧。
周一，法国内政部宣布，作为与英国达成的协议的一部分，它正在运送价值超过 1100 万欧元的设备和车辆，“以确保从敦刻尔克到索姆湾长达 130 多公里的沿海地带的安全。 .”
它补充说：“警察和宪兵将有更多资源来执行打击非法移民的任务。”
上周，有 243 人在试图越境前往英国时在英吉利海峡获救。
CNN 的 Amy Cassidy 和 Joseph Ataman 为本报告做出了贡献。
