Several people have died in Channel incidents that have killed a child. Tragically, the child was “trampled to death”.
It comes after two small boat incidents off France. The French interior minister Bruno Retailleau posted information about the incidents on X, formerly Twitter. He said: “Today several people died trying to cross the Channel. A child was trampled to death in a boat.
“A terrible tragedy that must make us all aware of the tragedy that is unfolding. The people smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death.”
Local newspaper La Voix Du Nord said three people had died off Calais and one near Boulogne. Rescue operations are reportedly ongoing.
The AFP news agency says a migrant boat heading towards Britain called for assistance on Saturday morning. Rescuers reportedly picked up 14 people on board, including the child.
An injured migrant was airlifted to hospital in, France. The remaining passengers continued their journey, it reported. Officials said the child was found in the boat.
The news comes after the Home Office confirmed that 395 migrants arrived in the UK crossed the English Channel on Friday. Those were the first arrivals in five days.
They had travelled in seven boats and their arrival brings the total for the year to 25,639. That compares to 25,330 by the same date last year and 33,611 in 2022.
Some who arrived on Friday were pictured wearing life jackets. They were brought to shore at Dover on a Border Force vessel.
That came as the UK and other G7 nations agreed an anti-smuggling action plan. It is designed to boost co-operation on the issue following talks in Italy.
The Home Office said that would include joint investigations and intelligence-sharing. The crackdown is designed to target criminal smuggling routes.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“As we have seen with so many recent devastating tragedies in the Channel, the people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.
“We are making progress, bolstering our personnel numbers in the UK and abroad. Our new Border Security Command will strengthen our global partnerships and enhance our efforts to investigate, arrest and prosecute these evil criminals.”