French police use knives to puncture migrant boat in Dunkirk to prevent Channel crossing

26 April 2024, 23:26 | Updated: 29 April 2024, 15:33

A French police officer has been pictured slashing a small boat carrying migrants to prevent them crossing the Channel to Britain.

An officer was pictured holding a knife after he had punctured an inflatable boat to prevent the people in it from making the journey.

The group of migrants were reportedly preparing to leave at the beach of Graveline, near Dunkirk on Friday.

Other photos captured at the beach show officers using pepper spray to disperse the groups of people attempting to make the journey to Britain.

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Photos show the migrants looking dejected as their journey is derailed by the officers, which some had paid £1000 to make.

Despite thwarting the attempt, another small boat arrived just 15 minutes later, the MailOnline reports.

The migrants, who were reportedly from Sudan and Vietnam, jumped into the new vessel and took off before officers were able to intervene.

It comes amid apparent ramped up efforts to prevent small boat journeys after five migrants died while attempting to cross the English Channel on Tuesday.

A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux but got into difficulty.

Some 49 people were rescued but 58 others refused to leave the boat and continued their journey towards the UK.

Two men were charged over the deaths on Friday.

Yien Both, a 22-year-old from South Sudan, was charged with assisting unlawful immigration and attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance.

Tajdeen Abdulaziz Juma, a 22-year-old Sudanese national, was charged with attempting to arrive in the UK without valid entry clearance.

Both men have been remanded in custody and are expected to appear before Folkestone Magistrates' Court later on Friday.

A third man, an 18-year-old from Sudan, has been bailed pending further inquiries.

French have since been urged to increase their efforts to prevent further crossings. However, one officer told The Sun it was an “impossible task”.

They said: “It's an impossible task - there are just too many boats now. It's like playing whack-a-mole. You stop one boat and then another arrives.”

An Interior Ministry source based in northern France told the MailOnline: “There have been accusations that the police have been holding back when dealing with the smuggling gangs.

“This is mainly because they don't want to get involved in violence with the migrants, but they must realise that this has to change.

“There was certainly widespread disgust across the various police forces about what happened last Tuesday – the thought that a gang could have used lethal violence to get a place on a boat is incredibly worrying.

“Something needs to change, and to change quickly, and the police believe they can do this.”

Around 6,500 people have arrived in England on small boats from France so far this year.