These are the faces of people who died trying to cross the Channel in 2024.
Heartbreaking images show children – including babies – among the dozens who perished, as charities warn next year could be even worse. The Missing Migrants Project estimates there have been 78 deaths at the border between the UK and France – more than three times higher than the 24 recorded a year earlier.
MPs have been urged to “reflect” on the tragedies and do everything possible to stop it happening again next year. On Sunday three more people died trying to board a small boat off the French coast in Sangatte, near Calais.
Smuggling gangs have been packing more people onto “death trap” boats and taking longer routes to evade ramped-up enforcement on the French coast.
Too often this has had devastating consequences. Among the young victims were Sara Al Ashimi, from Iraq. The seven-year-old died in a crush in April as people packed onto an overcrowed boat in Calais.
In October baby Maryam Bahez, who was just over a month old, died when she slipped from her dad’s hands on a dangerously packed boat. The infant, whose family had fled Iraq, was among around 60 crammed onto the vessel.
Scroll down for the list of people known to have died trying to reach the UK
In September a newborn baby named Meri died in hospital following an emergency caesarean after her mum was rescued from a sinking boat days earlier. And devastating records show a two-year-old boy named Mansur choked in his mother’s arms during a chaotic boarding in October at Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The horrifying list of names also includes seven-year-old Rola Al Mayali, from Iraq. She died when the boat she was in capsized in a canal as she and her family – including her three brothers and pregnant mother – attempted to reach the Channel.
There were at least 12 cases where at least one person died during Channel crossings in 2024 – but the true number will be higher. Many more, like Rola, died while trying to reach the sea.
Many had fled countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan – which have been engulfed in conflict in recent years. Campaigners say the Channel deaths highlight the need for more safe and legal routes.
The first recorded Channel tragedy of 2024, on January 14, claimed the life of 14-year-old Obada Abd Rabbo. He was making the journey to the UK from Syria with his brother Aysar, 26, who also perished along with three others. Syrian teenager Mohamed Al Jbawi, who was just 16, died in the same incident.
Dahlak Teklezgi, who had a six-year-old son, has been named as the victim when an overcrowded boat sank in July. During the same month 21-year-old Dina Al Shammari, from Kuwait, suffocated as she and dozens of others tried to make the dangerous crossings, desperate to start a new life in the UK.
With the help of charities and experts, The Mirror has been able to name several who died during the perilous journeys. But despite repeated efforts to obtain full information from French authorities, the identities of many more remain unknown.
Dr Wanda Wyporska, chief executive at Safe Passage International, said: “It’s absolutely horrifying seeing so many names and faces who have lost their lives needlessly. Every one of these deaths could have been prevented.
“And seeing children amongst those who have died is shocking – such young lives lost. We should remember each of these people had hopes and dreams for the future and have loved ones who are grieving.”
She said the Government must work on expanding safe routes and improving ways to reunite families. Dr Wyporska said: “We’ve had years of hostile policies being pushed by the UK and EU governments – higher fences, increased enforcement and dehumanising of refugees.
“These anti-refugee policies push people to the brink and further into the hands of smugglers, forcing them to take even greater risks and more dangerous journeys across the Channel or suffocating in the backs of lorries. The lack of safe routes and government support leaves people with no option but to reach the UK at the hands of smugglers instead.”
Christa Rottensteiner, chief of mission at IOM UK, which runs the Missing Migrants Project, said every death is one too many. She told The Mirror: “It’s really important to highlight the names and stories, as too often people just look at the numbers.
“This year we’ve seen the most fatalities since records started. These are people, they’re someone’s brother, sister, child – it’s really important to talk about them as human beings. They were looking for a better life and they felt there was no other choice.”
Experts and campaigners who spoke to The Mirror about the crisis in the Channel agreed that while enforcement against criminal gangs can help, safe and legal routes must be expanded. They warn that increased security measures on the French coast mean smuggling gangs are piling more people into boats, which are setting off from further away into dangerous waters.
“We know where people are coming from,” said Ms Rottensteiner. “If people leave out of desperation and they have no safe ways to travel, they take huge risks.” She said better support for countries neighbouring conflict zones and improved steps to match refugees with jobs in short supply could help drive down crossings.
Enver Soloman, chief executive at the Refugee Council, told The Mirror that enforcement alone would not stop the boats, and called on ministers to expand safe routes to the UK.
Steve Smith, chief executive of Care4Calais told The Mirror: “UK funded security measures aren’t reducing the number of Channel crossings, they are simply forcing people to take more risks to make the crossing. Crossings are setting off at points further down the coast where the conditions are harsher and the journey is longer.
“2024 has been the deadliest year on record in the Channel, and unless we see a change of approach there’s nothing to suggest the deaths will end in 2025. We speak to refugees in Calais every day, and every one of them tells us that if there was a safe route to claim asylum in the UK they would use it.”
In a powerful message to ministers he said: “We would call on them to reflect on the number of people who have lost their lives in the Channel this year, to act with compassion and create the safe routes that we need.”
The long list of tragedies highlights the need for a change of approach, Fizza Qureshi, chief executive of the Migrants’ Rights Network said. She told The Mirror: “Like those who died in previous years, their deaths were entirely preventable: they were a result of successive Governments dehumanising refugees, and determining which type of refugee is welcome in the UK.
“The Government’s ‘deterrent’ policies and criminalising legislation have forced more and more desperate people into making dangerous journeys across the Channel.”
Ms Qureshi accused Labour of continuing “hostile” policies, stating: “In less than six months, it has signalled its intent to increase racist surveillance, cruel immigration enforcement measures and has doubled down on cruel ‘deterrence’ measures that force people into making these dangerous crossings.
“These inhumane policies are increasing the suffering of People of Colour who are seeking safety: while a protection scheme has been put in place for Ukrainians, the same can’t be said for those from other nationalities.”And she continued: “Their ‘crackdown’ does nothing to address the root causes of why people make dangerous journeys in the first place, including that safe routes do not exist for all nationalities.”
In December Home Secretary Yvette Cooper branded the vessels used to make the journeys “death traps”. She told members of the Home Affairs Select Committee that expanding legal routes is not an alternative to enforcement.
She said: “All countries will always need to dotheir bit but I think it is just not an alternative to the enforcement weneed against the criminal gangs who are making such huge profits.”
Describing the dangerous boats used to make the crossings, the Home Secretary said: “These boats are flimsy and they can fold inwards.The smugglers put the women and children in the middle of the boat.
“When the boat folds, they can end up being crushed. It is not just that people drown, they can also end up being crushed to death because of these incredibly dangerous death traps that the gangs are profiting from.”
People who died trying to cross the Channel in 2024
January 14 – Obada Abd Rabbo, 14, from Syria – Fourteen-year-old Obada was trying to reach the UK, where his older brother Nada had arrived two years earlier. He had fled Daraa in southern Syria along with his brother Aysar, who also died. His family believed that if they could reach the UK they would be able to bring their parents over. He was just 13 when he set off, travelling to Libya before making his way to Europe by boat. A neighbour told the BBC: “He would reach Britain and reunite with his brother and soon after would bring his mother and father. That was the whole point of them leaving, so his father could seek medical treatment abroad.” Another friend said: “He was scared. We used to talk to him to make him stronger and tell him not to worry about anything. But he needed someone to take care of him.” He was one of five who died while trying to board a vessel in France.
January 14 – Aysar Abd Rabbo, 26, from Syria – Obada’s older brother also perished in the tragedy. By the time they attempted to cross the Channel, he and his brother had been travelling for around nine months. They were caught attempting to cross the Mediterranean in a smuggler’s boat, and said they endured weeks of torture at the hands of Libyan authorities. The brothers were attempting to reunite with older brother Nada, who lives in London.
January 14 – Ali Al Aaqlat, 25, from Syria – Also making the tragic journey that day was Ali Al Aaqlat. The 25-year-old died at Wimereux beach.
January 14 – Mohamed Al Jbawi, 16, from Syria – The fourth victim of the incident was teenager Mohamed, who was trying to board a small boat during rough weather. He was from the city of Deraa, in the south of the country.
January 14 – Ayham Al-Shouli, 24, from Syria – Ayham died alongside four others in January’s horrific drowning, which claimed the lives of three men and two teenagers.
February 28 – Eren Gündogdu, 22, from Turkey – Eren’s body was discovered after he fell from a packed boat that left Wissant beach carrying at least 56 people. Two others are still missing.
March 2 – Jumaa Al Hasan, 27, from Syria – Jumaa’s body was discovered in a canal in France in March. It is believe he jumped in the water when police approached after spotting a group waiting to board a UK-bound boat.
March 3 – Rola Al Mayali, seven, from Iraq – Rola was among 16 people – including 10 children – on a boat in the Aa canal in Watten, when it capsized. The vessel was transporting them to the coast, but tragically Rola, whose family had fled Iraq five years earlier, died.
April 23 – Abdul Noor Zachariah, from Sudan – Abdul was asphyxiated after being trampled while boarding a small boat at Wimereux beach, in Pas-de-Calais. He was one of five people to die in the tragedy.
April 23 – Rakesh Kumar, 44, from India – The same incident claimed the life of 44-year-old Rakesh, who was attempting to reach the UK. The Indian national suffocated in the overloaded boat.
April 23 – Semet Cagritekin, 22, from Turkey – Also killed in the incident, which claimed five lives, was Semet, 22, from Turkey.
April 23 – Zilan Mohamed Amin, 25, from Iraq – Zilan was the fourth victim of the tragedy, which happened following a crush onboard a small boat at Wimereux beach.
April 23 – Sara Al Ashimi, 7, from Iraq – Sara was the youngest victim of the April 23 tragedy, suffocating after being trampled on an overcrowded boat.
July 12 – Ibrahim Huseen, 46, from Somalia – Ibrahim was one of four mean, all believed to be from Somalia, to die during a fatal rossing attempt from a beach near Boulogne-sur-Mer. According to witnesses around 60 people were on the boat, with 42 picked up by a rescue vessel and 14 others by a fishing boat.
July 17 – Dahlak Teklezgi, from Eritrea – Dahlak died when an overcrowded boat sank in the Channel. A fundraising appeal shared by Calais-based charity L’Auberge des Migrants said she had a six-year-old son.
July 19 – Abdulaziz, 15, from Sudan – Teenager Abdulaziz died after falling in the water while trying to cross the Channel on an overloaded boat. He was one of five who plunged into the sea, but while the other four were rescued medics were unable to save his life.
July 28 – Dina Al Shammari, 21, from Kuwait – Dina died as a result of suffocation. She was travelling with her three siblings, aged between 13 and 19, and her mother. Mum Amira Al Shammari, 52, said it was their fifth attempt to cross, adding: “The boat was so crowded. Dina was the first one, she ran to the boat because she wanted to go to the UK as soon as possible.”
July 29 – Mohammed Abouzayd, 11 months, from Libya – Details about Mohammed’s death are unclear, but it is understood the Libyan infant died as a result of a medical condition.
September 3 – Kbaat Gebrehiwet, 20, from Eritrea – Kbaat was among 12 people who died when a boat sank off the Calais coast. His body was recovered from the water on September 17.
September 7 – Meri, newborn baby – The tiny infant died in hospital four days after her mother was rescued from a sinking boat. Sadly 12 people, believed to be from Eritrea and Ethiopia, died in the tragedy.
October 5 – Mansur, 2 – Two-year-old Mansur suffocated in his mother’s arms after being crushed on a small boat which set off from Boulonnais.
October 17 – Maryam Bahez, four months, from Iraq – Maryam, a four-month-old baby, died when a boat carrying 60 people sank off the coast of Wissant. Her father Aras told Sky News: “She went into the water but I brought her up, then a few others fell on us and then she went into the water and I brought her up for the second time, then others fell on me and then she slipped from my hand, and fell in the water the third time, and I lost her.”
October 23 – Aster, 21, from Eritrea – Three people died and 46 were rescued when a boat sank in the Channel. One was subsequently named as 21-year-old Aster, from Eritrea. A fundraising appeal shared by Calais-based charity L’Auberge des Migrants, said she dreamed of creating a “better future”.