Five illegal immigrants (a girl, a woman and three men) drowned in the early hours of yesterday morning when a shepherdess got into trouble on a sandbank above Wimereux, in the French department of the Pas – of Calais. The boat was carrying a hundred people, forty of whom were rescued by the French coast guard, and the rest continued their journey to England. In total, at least a dozen people have lost their lives since the beginning of the year trying to cross the English Channel. In the first three months of the current year, the British authorities have processed the applications of 5,373 people who have arrived in the country through this route (in 2023 the total was 29,437). In recent weeks, France has increased the intensity of patrols. / R. Ramos