French police slice migrant boat with knife and use pepper spray to thwart crossing

Our Foreign Staff
French police officers puncture a smuggler's boat with a knife to prevent migrants from embarking in an attempt to cross the English Channel
One police officer put a hole in the dinghy to prevent the boat from leaving - SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP

French police have used a knife to puncture an inflatable boat as it prepared to leave Dunkirk with dozens of migrants across the Channel to Britain.

One officer was photographed brandishing a knife, after slicing the boat to prevent the group of people from leaving.

The attempted crossing was thwarted at the beach of Graveline, near Dunkirk in northern France on Friday.

Police also used pepper spray to disperse some of the migrants, who threw off their orange life jackets and were left looking dejected as their boat began deflating.

Five migrants, including a seven-year-old girl, died trying to cross the Channel from France on Tuesday, local authorities said.

Nearly a dozen migrants were on the inflatable dinghy as it tried to leave
Migrants were on the punctured inflatable dinghy as it tried to leave - SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP
A Sudanese migrant react after leaving a smuggler's boat which was punctured with a knife by French police officers to prevent migrants from embarking in an attempt to cross the English Channel
A Sudanese migrant cries after French police intervened in their crossing - SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP

The deadly crossing came just hours after Parliament passed the Rwanda Bill into law, paving the way for asylum seekers who arrive in Britain without permission to be deported to the African country.

The police on Friday charged two men with immigration offences related to the deaths.

A 22-year-old from South Sudan has been charged with assisting unlawful immigration and attempting to arrive in Britain without valid entry clearance, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Friday.

Another 22-year-old man from Sudan was charged solely with attempting to arrive without valid entry clearance.

Police used pepper spray to disperse the migrants
Police used pepper spray to disperse the migrants - SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP

Both men have been remanded in custody and are expected to appear in court in Kent on Friday.

An 18-year old man from Sudan has been bailed pending further inquiries, the NCA statement added.

About 6,500 people have arrived in England on small boats from France so far this year.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, says the Rwanda policy will deter people from making the journey.

The Rwandan government said on Friday it would take as many migrants as Britain sends its way and urged “shouting” critics of the deportation plan to now let both nations proceed.

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