Lifejacket mural tribute to migrants who died at sea

The mural on a sea wall is revealed as the tide goes out

A mural showing discarded lifejackets has been painted on a sea wall in Kent, as a charity aims to raise awareness of migrants losing their lives at sea.

The painting, in Ramsgate, was created by artist Hugh Whitaker and charity Refugease.

According to the Missing Migrants Project, 30 deaths have been recorded in the English Channel so far in 2024.

The mural, called The Orange Iceberg, emerges as the tide goes out.

As of 19 August, 19,294 people had crossed the Channel in 2024. That's more than in the same period the previous year but below the level in 2022.

In 2023 as a whole, 29,437 people came to the UK in small boats.

That was a big drop from the 2022 total of 45,755, which was the highest since recent figures were first collected in 2018.

Kent-based artist Hugh Whitaker painted the mural in Ramsgate

Valentina Osborn, Refugease founder and managing director, said there has been an "increasing number of tragic drownings in the English Channel".

Many migrants come from some of the poorest and most chaotic parts of the world, and many ask to claim asylum once they are picked up by the UK authorities.

The Channel is one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world, with 600 tankers and 200 ferries passing through it every day.