12 Aug 2021
A migrant dies in the sinking of a boat in the English Channel
A migrant airlifted to hospital from the English Channel after a boat carrying around 40 people began to sink has died.
The Home Office has confirmed the death of the man, who was taken to Calais by helicopter earlier on Thursday.
The boat reportedly started to take on water as it headed for the UK on Thursday morning.
The rescue operation, involving French and Belgian air and maritime units, continued throughout the day, French authorities said.
Others reportedly made it to British shores on Thursday, with reports of a landing on a beach in Kent.
The search began around 10 a.m. after a freighter reported that a boat carrying around 40 people was in difficulty, with a few people overboard, off Dunkirk.
An unconscious person taken aboard the freighter’s lifeboat and transferred to a French Navy ship was then airlifted to Calais hospital.
He would have suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest and would have been evacuated aboard a helicopter of the Belgian Air Force, according to the French authorities.
French media later reported that the individual was deceased, which has since been confirmed by the Home Office’s underground channel threat commander Dan O’Mahoney.
He said: “Today someone sadly died in France following an incident in French waters while attempting to cross the Channel.
“This loss of life is a tragedy and we are supporting our French counterparts who are leading the response.
“It highlights the terrible dangers of small boat crossings and why we must work with the French to prevent callous criminals from exploiting vulnerable people.”
Several others were also hoisted aboard the helicopter as the migrant boat sank, while others were rescued by nearby fishing boats.
They were all transferred to the Flamant patrol vessel of the French Navy, which headed for the port of Dunkirk.
Search and rescue operations remained ongoing in the Strait of Pas de Calais for much of Thursday, with a French Navy helicopter continuing to scour the area.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Home Secretary for the Labor Party, said: “This is a tragic loss of life and our hearts are with family and friends.
“Conservative ministers must urgently address this situation, strike a meaningful deal with France that stops organized crime gangs from taking advantage of vulnerable people and tackle the factors that drive people to take these incredibly dangerous roads . “
Lisa Doyle, Director of Advocacy and Engagement at the Refugee Council, said: “This tragic loss of life is a sobering reminder that the odds are against ordinary men, women and children, who struggle desperately for safety and protection.
“Every day, people are forced to flee their homes without their being responsible. We can do more to make travel safer.
She urged the government to “change course” and create and commit to creating safe pathways to asylum.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International UK, said: “We are deeply saddened by this loss of life and our hearts go out to the family and friends who have lost a loved one.
“The Interior Ministry must take this as an urgent wake-up call.
“Priti Patel needs to fundamentally change government policy and ensure that this does not happen again. “
After days of bad weather in the Strait of Pas de Calais, lighter conditions on Thursday saw a flurry of crossing attempts.
The latest offers to reach the UK come after French authorities intercepted at least 108 people attempting to cross the Channel on Wednesday, with one to be airlifted to Dunkirk hospital.
The dangerous sea voyage from France – taken by more than 10,000 people, including children so far in 2021 – has claimed many lives in the past.
Among them were Rasoul Iran-Nejad and his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, who died with their three children when their boat capsized on October 27, 2020.
Their 15-month-old son Artin was reported missing in the wake of the tragedy and it was not until June of this year that police confirmed that a body found on the Norwegian coast was that of the young boy.
Data compiled by the PA news agency shows that the number of successful crossings this year now stands at more than 10,700 people, despite the dangers associated with the trip.
Crossings in 2021 eclipsed last year’s annual total of 8,417 in July, according to AP data.
19 Aug 2021
Do you have COVID abroad? This service will send a speedboat to the rescue
There is a lot of pent-up demand for overseas travel, but one thing that holds Americans back is the fear of being stranded in a foreign country if they contract COVID-19 while traveling.
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Why is this important: The United States is requiring all arriving air passengers – vaccinated or not, including Americans returning home – to test negative for COVID-19 no more than three days before their trip.
Self-isolating for an additional 10 days in a hotel room, even in paradise, can be expensive – not to mention the risks, if you get really sick and need medical attention in a foreign country.
What is happening: A company called Covac Global will send a medical jet, a helicopter or even a speedboat – “whatever it takes,” they say – to rescue COVID patients in other countries and bring them home for treatment .
Some holiday destinations are even teaming up with Covac to prevent infections from spreading in their country.
The Bahamian government is a client, performing weekly evacuations to transport positive visitors off the island, according to the company.
And some hotels, like the Eden Roc in St. Barts, include the evacuation service in their vacation packages.
The context: Most travel insurance policies like the Allianz Travel Protection Plan typically do not cover COVID-19 related claims because a pandemic is “predictable.” They also do not cover the fear of traveling.
During the ongoing health crisis, however, Allianz says it will temporarily cover emergency medical care as well as trip cancellation for a traveler who becomes ill with COVID-19.
Covac Global is working to bring them home, whether or not they are sick.
The plot: It is not travel insurance, it is a membership based service.
Membership for a 15-day trip is $ 675 per person; a 30-day trip costs $ 995. Annual membership is $ 2,400, for unlimited travel up to 90 days each.
How it works: Unlike most insurers, Covac does not require customers to be hospitalized before authorizing medical evacuation.
All the business needs is a positive COVID test result and a self-reported symptom, such as a sore throat, cough, or runny nose.
Covac medical staff will pick up the patient from wherever they are and bring them back to the United States
They don’t have to abide by the CDC’s rules on isolation if the medical team delivers them directly to their homes.
“All they have to do is wait at the hotel, and we pay the whole thing, up to a million dollars, to get them home,” CEO Ross Thompson told Axios.
The bottom line: Since launching the service at the start of the pandemic, Thompson says Covac has sold “tens of thousands of subscriptions” and performs “about a dozen” evacuations per month.
The trap : Non-members are also eligible for evacuation service, but it could cost up to $ 250,000 door-to-door, depending on their location.
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