Heartbreaking final moments of Obada Abd Rabbo who drowned trying to cross the Channel to the UK
The family of a teenage boy who died trying to cross the Channel to the UK say they regret encouraging him to make the trip, revealing how he made anxious pleas that he couldn’t swim and wasn’t sure about the journey.
Obada Abd Rabbo was just 14 when he drowned in the English Channel, a few metres from shore on the coast of northern France.
The football fan was trying to cross to the UK in a small boat accompanied by his brother Ayser, who also perished, on that fateful morning on Sunday 14 January.
More than 60 people scrambled into the sea trying to get on the inflatable boat, only to be faced with a steep drop into deep water. Obada soon found himself out of his depth and started screaming and asking for help.
Obada and Ayser were among five people that lost their lives that day, just 11 yards from the slipway. The 14-year-old was also the first to die while attempting the crossing in 2024.
Speaking to the BBC, Obada’s brother Nada — who successfully made the crossing in 2022— admitted he felt guilty about encouraging his younger brother to also make the trip.
It is understood that Obada’s mother and father, Abu and Um Ayesar, had planned to join him in the UK and might have pressured him to travel. Mr Ayesar had health complications and it was hoped that he might be able to have treatment here.
However, as a minor, Obada would not have legally been in a position to arrange for his parents to follow him, particularly as he already has a brother living in England.
Nada, who was a law student at Damascus University, had decided to travel to England because of the conflict in Syria and to avoid being conscripted into the military.
He told the BBC: ‘It was not safe. You go to the army and stay 10 years. You need to kill, or you die. We don’t want this.’
Nada told his brothers at home in Daraa, to join him, saying ‘you can make a new life here’ and ‘you’re young, you can study here’.
Obada attended school in Syria and his brothers, who thought he was ‘very clever’, had hoped that he would want to become a doctor.
He was a keen football player and had spoken to his brother about watching Manchester City play in England.
Obada was just 13 when he and his brother Ayser boarded a plane from Damascus in Syria to Libya in May last year.
Obada was determined to get to the UK, perhaps not fully understanding the risks involved, according to the BBC.
In October 2023, the brothers attempted to cross the Mediterranean in a smuggler’s boat, but they were captured and detained in Tunisia before being taken back to Libya.
In December, the brothers tried again and were rescued by a coastguard and taken to Lampedusa. From there, they were taken to Italy where they boarded a train to Paris.
Obada’s parents in Daraa sent the BBC a heartbreaking video requesting to see their children ‘for the very last time’.