A man has been arrested after a woman died trying to cross the English Channel as a charity warned deaths cannot be ignored.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said officers arrested an Egyptian man on Monday in Manston, Kent, on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration in connection with the Channel crossing where the woman died off the coast of Calais on Sunday.
The agency said the boat continued its journey to the UK, with around 40 people arriving in Dover.
An NCA spokesperson said the 29-year-old man has been bailed pending further inquiries as they work with the French authorities to understand what led to the death.
The woman who lost her life was travelling with her family, a vigil at Parc Richelieu in Calais heard on Monday evening, and the family had been working with the Refugee Women’s Centre in the weeks before their departure.
The speaker from Groupe deces, who wished not to be named, said the Refugee Women’s Centre made clear it was “not (the) fault of the family” and responsibility lies with elected officials as they continue to campaign for safe passage and a “dignified and respected welcome” for people.
In July so far, the French coastguard has confirmed the deaths of seven migrants in the English Channel.
NCA branch commander Mark Howes said of the incident at the weekend: “This tragedy demonstrates how dangerous these crossings are, and our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the individual who died.
“Working with partners, we remain determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in organised immigration crime, and prevent them from exploiting the desperation of others.”
Angele Vettorello, co-ordinator at the charity Utopia 56, told the PA news agency the situation on the border was a “political choice” by France, England and the European Union and that the last week had been “really tough” for people on the move.
Ms Vettorello said: “We are talking about people dying, we are talking about people injured, we are talking about people who struggle with a lot of mental health issues here, with awful living conditions and I think we can’t ignore it, we can’t ignore it’s the politicians who are responsible.
“We are talking about the life of people, all of this must stop.”
Speaking on Tuesday, the volunteer said some who tried to make the journey in the morning had been stopped by the police presence, and Utopia 56 has seen people try to cross around 10 times who are “absolutely exhausted”.
On fewer boats, she added it makes the process longer and harder for people but “at some point they will cross”.
“There are really hard and difficult conditions here at the border so sometimes just crossing is the only way they have to find a new life.
“We meet some people saying ‘We can’t do anything else now, I have family (there), we want to cross’.”
A camp in the Calais area could be seen with clothes hanging on metal wire fencing, an outdoor wash basin and large canopy where its residents were sitting under the shade, next to tents set up inside a disused building.
Residents sat around together and were coming in and out of the makeshift home having collected food from a nearby distribution spot.
According to Auberge des Migrants volunteer Flore Judet, it is the biggest living site in Calais this year, with around 300 people recorded last week, although she added: “It is really complicated to get accurate numbers… because people are on the move.”
At a base of organisations that support migrants in Calais, a board showed that charity Refugee Community Kitchen had cooked 13,188 meals for people across Calais and Dunkirk in June this year.
The warehouse, visited by PA, hosted a range of projects such as giving toys and Sim cards out to people in Calais, as well as storing essentials such as sleeping bags, clothes and tents ready for distribution.
Ms Judet, a programme and communications co-ordinator for the group, said of the challenges of the work: “Most obviously, people are dying, (it’s) really hard to manage, you feel so powerless.”
Of the crossings, she added: “The fact that (there are) less boats doesn’t mean people won’t cross, they are struggling here.”
So far this year more than 16,000 people have arrived in the UK via the English Channel.
