A recent investigation reveals that at least 440 people in distress appear to have been abandoned in the weeks before the worst Channel disaster in 30 years.

On November 23, 2021, at around 10PM an inflatable boat with over 30 people aboard, mostly Kurds from Iraq or Iran, tried to cross the Channel from France to the UK. Around midnight the boat began to deflate and sink in the middle of the Channel. The Guardian reports that when the passengers repeatedly made calls to French and UK emergency services, the French told them they were in British waters while the British told them they were in French waters. 

Of those on board the overcrowded boat, 31 are believed to have drowned. Twenty-seven bodies were recovered. Four are still missing. Only two people survived the incident, the worst maritime disaster in the Channel for 30 years. Among the dead were 21 men, seven women, including one who was pregnant, and three adolescents.

A two-page report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), a year after the incident, concluded that “some of the events relating to this loss of life had occurred inside UK waters.”  When officials did send out search and rescue services, there was no sign of the boat or its passengers. Eleven hours later – at 2pm the next day – a French fishing boat spotted the bodies in the water and raised the alarm.

Now, an analysis of internal records and marine data seen by the Observer and Liberty Investigates suggests that weeks before the disaster, around 440 people appear to have been left adrift after the coastguard sent no rescue vessels to 19 reported boats carrying migrants in UK waters, over four separate days.

Internal logs from November 3, indicate that no rescue was sent to five reported small boats carrying a total of 112 people.  An internal database – cross-referenced with ship-tracking data and analyzed by experts – suggests HM Coastguard “effectively ignored” at least 14 more boats carrying 328 people on November 11, 16, and 20.

Experts said the failure to act appears to breach international law.

The Guardian reports that It remains unclear whether or not the 440 people on the 19 reported small boats identified in this investigation survived. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) refused Freedom of Information Act requests for the details of outcomes, relying partly on an exemption for “vexatious” requests.

When asked for an explanation over why it had sent no boats to help on numerous occasions, an MCA spokesperson said: “There are ongoing investigations into the UK’s emergency response to the Channel crossing fatalities and it would be inappropriate for HM Coastguard to comment further at this time.

Thanks to Doug Bostrom for contributing to this post.