France failed to tell Britain that a migrant boat was sinking and ignored a rescue offer from a passing tanker, according to a leaked probe. The report also praised Britain for its exemplary response to last year’s deadly Channel tragedy.
Previous reports suggested that the French and British coastguard services both passed the buck as a dinghy packed with migrants sank in the Channel on November 24 last year, resulting in 27 deaths.
However, a probe conducted by Cherbourg gendarmes and leaked to Le Monde on Tuesday pointed the finger squarely at the French, suggesting Calais coastguards’ stubborn refusal to help the stricken vessel despite migrants’ repeated and increasingly desperate pleas may warrant criminal charges for “non-assistance of persons in danger”. It called for “further investigations” to examine this possibility.
The flimsy vessel, which was totally “unsuited to a night Channel crossing” set off at around 10pm local time. French authorities were first notified it was sinking at 1.35am and were made aware of its location at 2.05am.
The leaked document concludes that the French coastguard repeatedly failed to respond to distress calls sent from French territorial waters backed up by GPS coordinates and lied to migrants by claiming it was sending a boat that never showed up.
When the migrant dinghy did finally reach UK waters, the French contacted the British but “never” told them that the boat had been in distress for hours and was sinking. As a result, the British prioritised another three boats in distress, saving 98 migrants that night.
As soon as it was made aware of the vessel’s location at 2.30am, the UK coastguard “rapidly” dispatched its rescue boat, the Valiant, to the area but asked the French to send its rescue craft, le Flamant, because it was much nearer the zone.
The French failed to do so, later claiming the boat was engaged in another rescue operation. However, Le Monde cites the probe as saying this claim was false and that Le Flamant was not, in fact, performing any “vital” task.
“Receiving no more calls (from the migrants, who were in contact with the French),” the UK coastguard “clearly thought that they had been saved,” wrote the gendarmes.
At 3.27am, the British issued a mayday call, which went unanswered.
In further damning findings, the French also told a tanker that came across the stricken boat not to help because its rescue boat was on its way.
The following afternoon, a fishing boat came across dead bodies in the water. There were only two survivors.
The gendarmes also accused the “Gris-Nez” coastguard of dragging its feet when communicating contact details of staff involved that night.
The Telegraph
