French rescuers failed to help sinking boat
French rescue services apparently failed to respond properly to a migrant boat that sank in the Channel last November, evidence is beginning to show.
There were at least 33 people on board and only two survived the disaster.
The BBC has seen transcripts of emergency calls made to the French coastguard, which suggests that passengers were repeatedly told to call UK emergency services, despite being in French water when they first requested help.
A French police investigation, leaked to the newspaper Le Monde, appears to suggest that the French coastguard never sent help to the scene, despite a specific UK request to do so.
The BBC also heard evidence that another migrant boat was passed back and forth between the two nations’ rescue centres, just a few days before the Channel disaster.
