Migrants drown in Channel hours after UK passes Rwanda policy

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STORY: Several people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France on Tuesday (April 23).

The fatalities came just hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous journeys.

The deaths occurred after a small, overcrowded boat carrying around 110 people tried to traverse one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Local prefect Jacques Billant spoke to reporters after the fatalities.

"A few hundred meters from the shore, the engine stopped and several people fell into the water. The patrol boat Abeille Normandie was immediately sent by the maritime prefect to rescue the shipwrecked people. On site, the French navy were able to note the presence in the boat of several unconscious people and in great difficulty."

Stopping the flow of migrants is a priority for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government.

The controversial bill would allow the UK to send asylum seekers to the African nation, rather than letting them stay in Britain for processing.

The Rwanda proposal is expected to pass into law this week.

And Sunak says he expects the first flights to depart within 10 to 12 weeks.

"No foreign court will stop us from getting flights off."

Human rights groups and other critics say the bill is inhumane.

But Sunak on Tuesday said the government was acting out of compassion, wanting to prevent people smugglers from pushing vulnerable people out to sea.

The first deportation flight to Rwanda in June 2022 was blocked by European judges.

Britain's Supreme Court then upheld a ruling that the scheme was unlawful.

It argued that migrants were at risk of being sent back to their homelands or other countries where they might face poor treatment.

More than 6,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain this year - many fleeing wars and poverty.

Currents on the Channel are strong and people smugglers typically overload the vessels - leaving them barely afloat and at risk of being lashed by the waves as they try to reach British shores.