A 24-year-old Kurdish woman who was hoping to join her husband in Britain has been named as the first confirmed victim of Wednesday’s Channel tragedy.
Baran Nouri Hamadami, from northern Iraq, is said to have lost contact with her partner in the middle of the sea.
She is thought to be one of 27 people who drowned attempting to cross the Channel in an inflatable dinghy, which collapsed off the coast of Calais earlier this week.
Her body is understood to have been identified by a relative at a facility in France, according to The Telegraph.
On Thursday before she was identified, her husband told how he was concerned for her welfare.
He said he had been following the movements of his spouse – who was also known as Maryam – during her boat journey, when her GPS suddenly cut off.
‘I am in a very bad state,’ he said.
‘She is not in the UK, which means that she is gone. It is very sad for me, and for everyone.
‘I had continuous contact with my wife and I was tracking her live GPS. After 4 hours and 18 minutes, from the moment she went into that boat, I think they were in the middle of the sea, then I lost her.’
The husband, a Kurdish immigrant, said he spoke to his wife on the phone before her signal disappeared and she had told him that there were around 30 people packed onto the dinghy.
When he heard that a vessel had capsized in the sea off France, he called the people traffickers who had organised the crossing but they told him they couldn’t reach anyone on board.
Her devastated family are understood to be holding a funeral for her in the Kurdish city of Irbil.
Her cousin Krmanj Ezzat told Sky News from the family home in northern Iraq: ‘Her mother and father are totally devastated.
‘The situation is just awful. She was a woman in the prime of her life. It’s a total tragedy and the whole family are in shock.’
He added: ‘I understand why so many people are leaving for a better life, but this is not the correct path. It’s the route of death. Please don’t take this route, it’s not worth it.’
And addressing the British and French governments, he said: ‘We hoped that Britain and France would accept us in a better way.
‘Anyone who wants to leave their home and travel to Europe has their own reasons and hopes, so please just help them in a better way and not force them to take this route of death.’
Wednesday’s tragedy claimed the lives of 17 men, seven women – including a pregnant woman – and three children.
French police have arrested five suspected people traffickers in connection with the incident.
Those who lost their lives were mostly Iraqi Kurds, Iranians and Afghans.
There were two survivors – from Somalia and Iraq.
It’s been speculated that a container ship could have collided with the dinghy, described as a ‘floating death trap.
Earlier, it was revealed how a man feared to be one the victims phoned his friend terrified from the boat telling him: ‘I don’t know if we’re going to make it.’
The tragedy is the worst loss of life among people trying to reach the UK for a better life.
It has sparked a diplomatic row between France and Britain over how to stop the crossings.
Earlier today, France cancelled talks with Britain after Boris Johnson wrote a letter to Emmanuel Macron urging him to take back people who had crossed the Channel.
The Prime Minister reached out to the French President with a five-point plan following the ‘catastrophe’ on Wednesday.
But France described the letter as ‘unacceptable’ – with Home Secretary Priti Patel now snubbed from a summit of European ministers due to take place in Calais on Sunday.
Numbers reaching the UK by sea have surged from 8,417 in 2020 to more than 25,000 so far this year.
The tragedy did not stop desperate people trying to reach the UK by boat the next day.
One asylum seeker, who fears his two best friends may have died on Wednesday, said migrants are often forced onto crowded boats by people smugglers.
‘We have all heard stories about people being threatened with a gun unless they get on,’ he told The Mirror.
Boris Johnson has offered to send British troops to northern France to help stop the crossings alongside local patrols.
However, critics says this own’t make much difference given the coastline used by the boats is several hundred kilometres long.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.