LONDON: A UK inquiry into the deadliest recorded small boat Channel crossing on Thursday ruled some of the deaths in the 2021 sinking were “avoidable.”
“The practice of small boat crossings must end. Apart from other reasons, it is imperative to prevent further loss of life,” chair Ross Cranston said at the closing hearing of the independent inquiry which began in 2024.
“For their families and friends, this is, above all, an immeasurable human tragedy,” added Cranston.
Since the deadly sinking, the number of small boat crossings from France to Britain have increased, with over 41,000 people making the perilous journey in 2025.
According to the report, “some” of the 27 deaths could have been prevented if UK and French authorities had acted sooner to rescue the wouldbe migrants.
