Several migrants, including a young child, have tragically died while attempting to cross the English Channel, French authorities confirmed. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described the incident as a “terrible tragedy,” revealing that the child was “trampled to death in a boat” and condemning the actions of people smugglers, stating, “They have the blood of these people on their hands.”
Local newspaper La Voix du Nord reported that at least four migrants, including the child, died in two separate incidents. A press conference is expected to be held later in Calais to provide further details.
According to the AFP news agency, a migrant boat headed for Britain sent a distress call on Saturday morning, prompting rescuers to save 14 individuals, including the child, from the vessel. One injured migrant was airlifted to a hospital in Boulogne, while the remaining passengers continued their journey. Authorities confirmed that the child, believed to be around four years old, was found onboard the boat.
Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Le Portel, a coastal town in northern France, confirmed the child’s age, while the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office stated that the child was “very young,” according to AFP.
Minister Retailleau, addressing the tragedy on X (formerly Twitter), vowed that the French government would “intensify the fight against these mafias who are profiting from organizing these deadly crossings.”
French Prime Minister Michael Barnier has called for stricter immigration policies, condemning the people traffickers who “exploit misery and despair” and fuel dangerous crossings across the Channel and the Mediterranean. He promised to be “ruthless” in cracking down on human smuggling operations.
In response, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his commitment to combating the smuggling networks but stopped short of providing a specific timeline for dismantling the gangs responsible for the crossings.
Recent statistics from the UK Home Office revealed that 395 migrants arrived in the UK via small boats on October 4, and 59 arrived on September 29. As of mid-September 2024, more than 23,000 people had crossed the Channel in small boats. Since 2018, at least 194 migrants have died attempting the perilous journey across the English Channel, according to the International Organization for Migration.
