An ‘utterly ruthless’ people smuggler threw migrants overboard when a fight about space broke out on a small, overcrowded dinghy, it has emerged.
The smuggler tossed the ‘troublemakers’ off the inflatable vessel and into the water after it left Calais, northern France and embarked on its journey across the English Channel to the UK.
The skipper feared the ‘boat might capsize’ after passengers started arguing and throwing punches in a scene that sources described as ‘all hell breaking loose’.
Emergency personnel were dispatched to rescue about a dozen passengers, including some young women, who had ‘complained about being thrown into the sea by the boat’s skipper’.
Witnesses have branded the smugglers as ‘brutal’ and ‘utterly ruthless’ following the incident, alleging they make ‘so much money’ by transporting small boats carrying upwards of 50 people that ‘they can afford to throw customers overboard’.
Witnesses have branded people smugglers as ‘brutal’ and ‘utterly ruthless’ when migrants were thrown overboard after a fight about space broke out on a small, overcrowded dinghy. The incident occurred off the coast of northern France. Pictured: File photo of Border Force rescuing migrants who travelled to Dover in small boats
Emergency personnel were dispatched to rescue about a dozen passengers, including some young women, who had ‘complained about being thrown into the sea by the boat’s skipper’. Pictured: File photo of UK Border Force
At least 12 people were hurled overboard following a row over the boat being crowded – which had led to a brawl with punches being thrown.
The asylum seekers, all of whom were wearing life jackets, had to be rescued by French emergency services in dinghies and on jet skis a few miles off the coast during the incident.
A witness said: ‘Smugglers had packed the boat with lots of paying customers but all hell broke loose. There was an argument about space and soon people were punching each other.
‘The skipper was worried that the boat might capsize if the fighting continued, and so he threw troublemakers into the sea.
‘It shows how utterly ruthless these people are. And it shows the smugglers are making so much money that they can afford to throw customers overboard.It is brutal.’
A spokesman for the French emergency services confirmed that police and ambulance workers spent the day rescuing ‘a dozen passengers from the boat’ during the incident last month.
He said: ‘All of them complained about being thrown into the sea by the boat’s skipper because of fighting onboard. You might get three or four different nationalities on a boat, and friction between them is common.’
All migrants on the vessel, as well as those rescued from the water, were reportedly taken back to France, where they received treatment for minor injuries and were then released.
First responders offered them survival blankets upon their return and no cases of hypothermia reported.
Authorities say smugglers often overcrowd the dinghies with vessels designed for 20 people often carrying 40 or 50.
Reports of the incident came as it emerged that the average number of migrants per boat crossing had hit a record of 52 in July.
The incident comes as small boat crossings are expected to surge this month as up to a fifth of French police take leave. A UK Border Force source said people traffickers knew of the French police’s patterns of holiday leave and were expected to ‘take advantage of it as they have in recent years’. Pictured: File photo of migrants arriving in Dover last month
It also comes as small boat crossings are expected to surge this month as up to a fifth of French police take leave. People traffickers are likely to take advantage of the traditional holiday period which covers all of August.
Sources said the Home Office had formally asked that gendarmes delayed their annual leave until September when newly-trained recruits enter service. The request was rebuffed by French officials.
It means organised crime gangs will be able to gamble on sending more dinghies to the northern French coast in the hope they will go undetected.
Patrols funded by UK taxpayers as part of a £478million deal signed by Rishi Sunak in November will not be affected, it is understood. But other gendarmes such as those in headquarters or in various support roles will take annual leave as normal.
A UK Border Force source said people traffickers knew of the French police’s patterns of holiday leave and were expected to ‘take advantage of it as they have in recent years’.
Last August was the busiest month for small boat arrivals during 2022, with 8,641 migrants reaching Britain – more than double the 3,683 who arrived the previous month. The number of arrivals this year is down 10 per cent on the same point in 2022 – at 14,732
