ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A dinghy carrying 70 Kurdish migrants was stranded in the English Channel, with the passengers having been stuck in the waters for several hours with no one coming to their rescue.

“A number of Kurdish migrants, totaling 70 people,” have contacted refugee rights activist Ranj Pshdary, telling him that they are stranded in a boat in the English Channel due to engine failure, the activist told The New Region on Friday.

“The passengers have been floating in the seawater for several hours with no one coming to their rescue,” Pshdary said.

Thousands of migrants illegally try to cross the deadly Mediterranean Sea every year in search of a better life in Europe and the United Kingdom, with a large number of them coming from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Kurdish areas of Syria, Iran, and Turkey. Many migrants who successfully enter Europe progress onward toward the UK, often by sailing across the Channel from France using boats provided by people smugglers.

The Kurdistan Region’s government said Tuesday that they were aware of the news that at least 17 Kurdish migrants have gone missing in Libya, but it remains unclear whether they were arrested or abducted. Many who take on the perilous journey to illegally move to Europe from the Kurdistan Region use the Libyan waterways to reach Italy through smuggling routes.

The Charge d'Affaires of the Iraqi embassy in Libya Ahmed al-Sahaf on Friday told Iraqi state media that six Kurds who had illegally entered Libya with a view to migrate to Europe have been repatriated, noting that "these efforts come after coordination that lasted for about a full month between the embassy and the relevant authorities in Libya."

The UK in late July launched a dedicated sanctions regime targeting organized migration crimes, designating 10 Iraqi nationals who are accused of “exploiting and endangering vulnerable people,” including from the Kurdistan Region.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) revealed the names of the 10 sanctioned individuals—all of whom have Kurdish names— which included two smugglers, two accused of equipping the gangs with inflatable boats and equipment, three accused of involvement in hawala (international transfer) banking, and one accused of helping smuggle migrants in the backs of lorries.

As part of his government’s plan to tackle illegal migration, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in early April confirmed £75 million in funds to bolster border security.

The British government announced in late November that it had reached a “world-first” security agreement with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, aimed at combating irregular migration and other border security concerns.