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Issa Mohamed Omar, one of only two survivors of the deadliest migrant boat disaster in the English Channel, has testified that many lives could have been saved if rescuers had acted more swiftly. Speaking before the Cranston Inquiry on Tuesday, Omar recounted the horrors of the November 24, 2021, tragedy, when an overcrowded inflatable boat sank in freezing waters between France and the United Kingdom. At least 27 people perished, including women and children.
Omar, a Somali national, now speaks for those who never made it ashore. He recalled how the dinghy left the French coast late at night, packed with desperate passengers hoping to reach Britain. Three hours into the journey, water began to fill the boat, prompting frantic distress calls. Despite their pleas, no immediate rescue was launched.
Legal counsel Rory Phillips KC presented evidence showing that both French and British authorities received multiple calls for help. However, the emergency was mistakenly marked as resolved, leading to a fatal delay. Omar described the moment the boat capsized, leaving passengers struggling in the icy water. “When the boat overturned, people started dying all around me,” he told the inquiry. “It’s unbearable to watch someone drown, struggling to breathe, knowing there is nothing you can do.”
Throughout the night, Omar clung to the sinking vessel’s remains, battling exhaustion and freezing temperatures. “By morning, maybe 10 people were still alive,” he recalled. “But as time passed, I heard fewer and fewer voices.” He was eventually rescued but spent four months in the hospital recovering, including undergoing therapy to regain the ability to walk.
The Cranston Inquiry confirmed that 26 victims have been identified, while four remain missing. Another body was recovered but has yet to be formally identified. French authorities estimate that 33 people were on board, including 13 women and eight children.
Omar remains convinced that a quicker response could have prevented many of these deaths. “If help had come quickly, I believe half of those people would still be alive,” he said. “We were ignored because we were seen as refugees, treated like animals. That’s why no one came for us.”
His testimony also shed light on the smuggling network behind these perilous crossings. The boat, originally intended for 33 passengers, was overcrowded at the last minute. “They didn’t count the children,” Omar revealed. The passengers were primarily Kurdish, Somali, Ethiopian, and Afghan migrants. As the boat floundered, passengers desperately tried to call authorities. An Egyptian driver instructed them to wait until they reached British waters before seeking help. One man made the final distress call, only to be given a WhatsApp number to send their location.
The inquiry also examined Omar’s long journey to the UK. He fled Somalia in 2006 after his father, a local governor, was assassinated. Seeking refuge in Yemen, he was forced to flee again when civil war erupted in 2014. Captured by Houthi rebels, he was imprisoned for refusing to fight for them. When the prison was bombed, he was transferred to a hospital in Iran before traveling through Turkey, Greece, and Italy, eventually reaching northern France in 2021.
Twice before, he had attempted to cross the Channel but was turned back. Smugglers convinced him that once he entered British waters, he would be accepted as an asylum seeker. “I want to build a life, to be educated, and to help my family,” Omar said.
His testimony has reignited debates over the handling of migrant emergencies in the English Channel. Advocacy groups argue that the delayed rescue response exposed systemic failures in how authorities handle distress calls from asylum seekers. Calls for policy reforms and better coordination between the UK and France have intensified as more migrants continue to risk their lives in dangerous crossings.