The Albany Gazette - 'Shouted his name': Channel tragedy survivor hopes friend made it

Eight people have been confirmed dead since the boat ran into trouble trying to reach Britain from France in the dead of night this weekend, with around 10 taken to hospital.

"I shouted my friend's name five times, six times, but there was no answer," Khames told AFP about the dramatic events in the small hours of Sunday.

The 31-year old declined to give his last name -- or that of his friend -- for fear of alarming his family while there was still hope, but said they are both "from the same city, the same neighbourhood, the same street".

Khames, who participated in a memorial service for the deceased Monday, told AFP that the two caught up with each other a month ago in Italy, from where they travelled by bus to France to undertake the perilous journey across the water to England.

They were still together on the beach just before embarking on the boat. "That's the last time I saw him," Khames said.

Weather conditions were good as they set off but Khames quickly realised that the boat, a rigid-hulled inflatable, was too small for the estimated 59 people from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran who were crowding in.

The vessel capsized shortly after midnight, off the French coast near Ambleteuse, a picturesque village some 10 kilometres (six miles) north of Boulogne-sur-Mer. French authorities said it probably ran into rocks.

"Everybody started searching for a friend, a son, a brother, a loved one," Khames said.

A Sudanese migrant who used her smartphone light to check on the bodies being dragged onto the beach told Khames that she thought she recognised his friend among the dead.

Since then he has been living "a nightmare", he said. His request to be allowed to see the bodies to make sure was rejected because he is not family.

"But he doesn't have anybody else here," said Khames about his friend, desperately hoping that he will show up among the injured taken to hospital.

- 'My last attempt' -

The latest tragedy means 46 migrants have lost their lives attempting to reach British shores so far this year, a regional official said, up from 12 in 2023.

Since his narrow escape Khames has decided that one failed crossing is enough, and that he will now apply for asylum in France rather than try for Britain again.

"This was my first attempt," he said. "It is also my last."

The French and British governments have sought for years to stop the flow of migrants, who pay smugglers thousands of euros per head for the passage on overloaded rubber dinghies.

More than 22,000 migrants have arrived in England by crossing the Channel since the beginning of this year, according to British officials.

Taking advantage of calm weather, more than 1,000 people made the crossing from France to England this weekend alone, according to UK government figures. These included 801 people on Saturday aboard 14 small boats and 292 people on Sunday -- the day of the disaster -- on six boats.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France's President Emmanuel Macron pledged this summer to strengthen "cooperation" in handling the surge in undocumented migrant numbers.

Starmer held talks Rome on Monday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has enjoyed some success in reducing the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean.

(P.Davis--TAG)