Asylum seekers are travelling up French river into Channel to avoid detection

Asylum seekers have been using the Canche River to reach the Channel (Image: Getty) Asylum seekers desperate to make it to the UK from France have been assembling inland before sailing down the Canche river in ‘taxi boats’ into the English Channel, in an attempt to avoid detection by the authorities. According to French regional news outlet La Voix Du Nord, migrants moving down the Canche have been met with state-funded blockades made of yellow buoys linked by a chain and anchored with concrete slabs on both banks of the river. The blockades, installed on August 10, are based in the port towns of Étaples and Cucq and use concrete studs taken from nearby lighthouses. The publication claimed it has had contact with three migrants from Iran who were thwarted by the blockades. Explaining the measure, the French government said: ‘Since the beginning of the year, 22 taxi-boats have been identified on the Canche, with an average of 46 migrants on each boat (…) without life jackets. The French port town of Étaples has seen migrants try and access the Channel via its river (Image: Getty) Étaples mayor Franck Tindiller said: ‘On Wednesday, there were four departures from La Canche in the same night’. The measure was introduced before tragedy struck in the Channel, as at least six people died after falling into the sea in the early hours of this morning. Fifty were rescued after a boat got into trouble in ‘severe adverse weather conditions’ in the world’s busiest shipping lane at around 4am, according to GB News. A rescue operation was launched involving five French ships, one helicopter and two British ships after the boat sank off the coast near Sangatte close to the Cap Gris Nez in northern France. Asylum seekers are using the Canche River to avoid the authorities. (Image: Getty) French authorities have confirmed a person taken to a hospital in Calais by helicopter and five others rescued by boat in a “serious condition” have all now sadly died. It’s understood a fishing vessel was also involved in the rescue. In Britain, migrants were rushed to Dover where ambulances were on hand to take some to hospital for treatment for hypothermia. A spokesperson from the RNLI said: “On Saturday 12 August, Dover volunteer lifeboat crew launched just before 4am to an incident in the Channel.” Home Secretary Suella Braverman said her “thoughts and prayers” were with those affected by the deaths in the Dover Strait. In a statement, she said: “My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic loss of life in the Channel today. “I have spoken with our Border Force teams this morning who have been supporting the French authorities in response to this incident.”