Four migrants including child die in Channel
Four migrants, including a two-year-old child, have died while attempting to cross the English Channel, according to French authorities, News.Az reports citing BBC .
The body of the child was found in a boat while three adult migrants died in a separate incident in another boat, said Jacques Billant, prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region.
French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said the child was "trampled to death in a boat", saying it was a "terrible tragedy" and people smugglers "have the blood of these people on their hands".
The AFP news agency reported that rescuers found the child in the boat on Saturday morning and an injured migrant was airlifted to hospital in Boulogne, France.
It said the migrant boat, which was heading towards the UK, called for assistance and rescuers picked up 14 people on board, including the child.
The remaining passengers on the boat continued their journey.
Mr Retailleau said in a post on X: "Our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death."
On Tuesday, the country's prime minister, Michel Barnier, said France needed a stricter immigration policy.
He said people traffickers "exploit misery and despair" and encourage undocumented asylum seekers to cross the Channel and the Mediterranean Sea, adding that he would be "ruthless" with the people traffickers.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said he was "absolutely determined" to tackle the smuggling gangs facilitating the crossings but he would not commit to a timeframe for doing that.
Figures from the Home Office show there were 395 migrants on 4 October who arrived in the UK in small boats without permission to enter the country, and 59 arrived on 29 September.
As of 15 September, more than 23,000 people had crossed the Channel in 2024.
At least 194 migrants died attempting to cross the English Channel between 2018 and September 2024, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration, which is part of the UN.
The body of the child was found in a boat while three adult migrants died in a separate incident in another boat, said Jacques Billant, prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region.
French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said the child was "trampled to death in a boat", saying it was a "terrible tragedy" and people smugglers "have the blood of these people on their hands".
The AFP news agency reported that rescuers found the child in the boat on Saturday morning and an injured migrant was airlifted to hospital in Boulogne, France.
It said the migrant boat, which was heading towards the UK, called for assistance and rescuers picked up 14 people on board, including the child.
The remaining passengers on the boat continued their journey.
Mr Retailleau said in a post on X: "Our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death."
On Tuesday, the country's prime minister, Michel Barnier, said France needed a stricter immigration policy.
He said people traffickers "exploit misery and despair" and encourage undocumented asylum seekers to cross the Channel and the Mediterranean Sea, adding that he would be "ruthless" with the people traffickers.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said he was "absolutely determined" to tackle the smuggling gangs facilitating the crossings but he would not commit to a timeframe for doing that.
Figures from the Home Office show there were 395 migrants on 4 October who arrived in the UK in small boats without permission to enter the country, and 59 arrived on 29 September.
As of 15 September, more than 23,000 people had crossed the Channel in 2024.
At least 194 migrants died attempting to cross the English Channel between 2018 and September 2024, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration, which is part of the UN.
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