'Half of the people would still be alive if rescue had come': Survivor of Channel boat capsize

Somali survivor of deadliest Channel crossing told UK inquiry migrants drowned waiting for rescue.

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A Somali survivor of the deadliest “small boats” Channel crossing on record told a UK inquiry on Tuesday that drowning migrants were “treated like animals” and died waiting for rescue.

Issa Mohamed Omar, one of only two survivors of the November 24, 2021 tragedy, described how an inflatable dinghy carrying people across from France capsized, killing at least 27, mostly Iraqi Kurds, including seven women, a 16-year-old boy, and a seven-year-old girl. Four people remain missing.

Despite distress calls from passengers, Omar said they were “left in the water for more than 12 hours without rescue.”

He described the scene: “Victims screamed in the water and drowned in the dark awaiting help.” Omar, speaking via video link, added, “If rescue had come quickly, I believe half of those people would still be alive today.”

He believes the delay in rescue was because the victims were seen as refugees. “Because we have been seen as refugees, that’s the reason why I believe the rescue did not come at all,” he said.

More than 36,800 people crossed the Channel between the UK and France in 2024, a 25 percent increase from the previous year. Migrants often pay smugglers thousands of euros to make the dangerous journey in small boats.

Omar recounted how their overcrowded boat began to capsize early in the morning, with many distress calls going unheeded. “All night I was holding to what was remaining of the boat,” he said. “We were all in shock, I never thought I would experience such a thing.”

Omar, eventually rescued by French fishermen, spent four months recovering in a hospital in France from injuries sustained during the capsizing. He left Somalia after his father was killed in the civil war and had hoped to reach the UK to support his family.

As a survivor, Omar now feels it is his responsibility to act as a “voice for those people who passed away.” The UK inquiry, which focuses on the role of British authorities, is set to run until March 27 and will seek to identify "lessons" to prevent such tragedies.

The inquiry is held in parallel with legal proceedings in France, where seven military personnel have been charged with failing to assist a person in danger, and several smugglers are under prosecution.