The documentary reveals the complicity of the French and British coastguards in drowning migrants

A documentary has revealed that 34 migrants were drowned by the French and British coastguards as they made their way to Britain via the English Channel.

Part of the award-winning ITV series Exposure, The Crossing has unearthed documents that provide new evidence of the involvement of the British and French coastguards in drowning migrants who spent hours deciding who would save the boat as they tried to cross. Canal in November last November, according to the newspaper.Guardian“British.

The newspaper pointed out that it was the worst maritime disaster on the canal in 30 years, and that around 40,000 people have arrived in Britain on small boats since the start of the year.

The film documented the testimonies of two survivors of the 34 people on board, of whom 27 drowned and 5 were missing.

Isa Mohamed, a Somali asylum seeker and survivor, said in the documentary: The children were screaming. Only the screams of drowning children could be heard. I saw bodies floating near me. That’s when the horror began.”

Internal legal documents obtained by the documentary team provide a minute-by-minute account of the night’s events based on the French Coast Guard’s emergency log.

Although the French coastguard has released the recording of an emergency call by prosecutors in the case as part of a French investigation into the tragedy, its British counterpart has yet to do so, apart from the UK’s investigative branch, which has launched an investigation. incident

The film indicated that at 4.34am on November 24, the French coastguard closed its casualty register, assuming it was handled by British rescue services.

While UK records of mass drownings have yet to be published, internal documents from the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency have raised questions about how distress calls from small boats are handled.

According to domestic French legal documents, the first call for help from passengers on the boat came to the French Coast Guard at the Gros-Cres-Nes regional office at 1.48am on November 24, when the boat took on water and began to shrink. , then the engine stopped and the attempt failed. Passengers to get the water out of the boat.

Passengers were mistakenly told that help would come from the emergency services. Passengers repeatedly relayed the boat’s GPS location to emergency services, but over time they lost hope and sank one by one.

This year they set a record by sailing across the waves in small boats from France to Britain. The crossings have strained already strained relations between France and Britain, and the two countries have traded accusations of responsibility.