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An IraqiÌý woman is the first named victim of the which occurred on Wednesday on the English channel off the northern French port of Calais.

Maryam Nuri Mohamed Amin,Ìýnicknamed Baran, attempted to join her fiancéÌýwho lives in the UK byÌý with a female relative as a surprise, her fiancéÌýtold the BBC.

The 24 year oldÌýfrom the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq reportedly messagedÌýher fiancéÌýas her group's dinghy began to deflateÌýwith reassurance that they would be rescued, but Amin soon became one of at least 27 casualties - includingÌý17 men, 6 women and 3 children - on the boat.

All but two of the passengers died -Ìýmost of themÌýwere Kurds from or .

"When she left Kurdistan she was very happy, she couldn't believe that she was going to meet her husband...Ìýno one deserves to die likes this,"ÌýMaryam's best friend Imann Hassan told the BBC.

24 year old Maryam Nuri Mohamed Amin from Northern Iraq has been named as the first victim of the mass drowning in the English Channel last week. Not migrants, human beings.

— #SocialistSunday (@socialistsunday)

"She tried to live a better life, she chose the UK, but she died," Hassan continued, describing Amin as "very humble" with "a very big heart".

Maryam's uncle confirmed to the BBC that AminÌýwas one of the people who drowned in Wednesday's tragic incident.

He said the family were made aware of her death fromÌýtwo people who were with her, and that they areÌýwaiting for her body to be flown back to Iraq.

The two survivors, from IraqÌýand , were treated for exhaustion and hypothermia before being discharged from a Calais hospital.

Activists and charities for failing to protect asylum seekers after the incident, as the majority of people travelling across the English channel on small boatsÌýhave a right to claim asylum in the UK but lack a legal route of travel.Ìý

Around 31,500 people attempted to leave for Britain since the start of the year and 7,800 people have been rescued at sea, according to French authorities.Ìý