Four migrants, including a child, died while trying to cross on two crowded boats from France to Britain, according to what French authorities reported on Saturday.
A two-year-old child was found unconscious on an overcrowded rubber boat after migrants issued a distress call this morning.
The boat was carrying about 90 people and its engine broke down off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.
Regional prosecutor Jerek Lobra, citing initial reports, said the child was “trampled” to death.
Officials also reported the rescue of 14 other migrants, including a 17-year-old boy who was taken to hospital after suffering burns to his legs. The other passengers continued their journey.
Another boat crowded with migrants also experienced an engine failure off the coast of Calais, leading to panic. The migrants jumped into the sea but were rescued.
The governor of the region explained that the bodies of three people, two men and a woman, aged approximately 30, were found at the bottom of the boat.
The governor added that the three “may have been trampled, suffocated and drowned” in the water at the bottom of the boat.
Thus, the number of migrants who have died while trying to reach England from France by sea since the beginning of 2024 has risen to 51, according to Jacques Belin, Governor of Pas-de-Calais.
– “Poverty and despair” – The French authorities seek to prevent migrants from taking to the sea, but they do not intervene once they set sail except for rescue purposes, justifying this with safety concerns.
The number of unregistered asylum seekers crossing the Channel into Britain has risen since 2018 despite repeated warnings about the dangers of crossing.
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