愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Attempts to cross the English Channel on small boats leave 4 migrants, including a child, dead

A vessel of the French Gendarmerie Nationale patrols in front of the Wimereux beach, France, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga) A vessel of the French Gendarmerie Nationale patrols in front of the Wimereux beach, France, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)
Share
PARIS, France -

French authorities said four migrants, including a two-year-old child, died Saturday in two separate incidents as they attempted to cross the English Channel toward Britain.

France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau deplored a 鈥渢errible tragedy" on X, saying that the child 鈥渨as trampled to death in a boat."

鈥淭he smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands,鈥 Retailleau added, saying his newly-appointed government is to 鈥渋ntensify the fight against these mafias who make money from these deadly crossings.鈥

Saturday鈥檚 deaths come as a series of shipwrecks made 2024 the deadliest in recent years on the English Channel. Last month, 12 people died after a boat carrying migrants ripped apart in the English Channel. About two weeks later, eight migrants died in a similar crossing attempt.

In a news conference, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais, Jacques Billant, said rescuers found the two-year-old child dead onboard a migrant boat that had called for assistance Saturday morning.

Fourteen other migrants picked up on board the recue boat were brought back to France to be interviewed by the border police and a 17-year-old was brought to a hospital in the port city of Boulogne-sur-Mer as he suffered from burns to his legs, Billant said.

Other people on the migrant boat who refused to be rescued continued their journey toward Britain, he said.

鈥淭o make money and with no regard for human life, networks of smugglers put people at ever greater risk,鈥 including families with children, "literally leading them to accident and death,鈥 Billant said.

Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor Guirec Le Bras, said the child, who appears to have been crushed in a jostling on the boat, was born in Germany from a 24-year-old Somalian mother.

In a separate incident, Billant, the prefect, said rescuers found three migrants dead and saved several others as they fell off a small boat overloaded with 83 passengers amid 鈥減anic and stampede."

Those dead 鈥渨ere probably crushed" and 鈥渉ave choked ... and drowned in the 40 centimetres (16 inches) of water at the bottom of the inflatable boat,鈥 he said.

They were two men and a woman, the three of them aged about 30, he said.

Migrants that rescuers took care of Saturday came from Eritrea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Kuwait and Iraq, Billant listed.

The prosecutor said investigations have been open on both incidents.

Europe鈥檚 increasingly strict asylum rules, growing xenophobia and hostile treatment of migrants have been pushing them north.

Before Saturday's events, French authorities said at least 46 migrants had died while trying to cross to the U.K. this year.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.

Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.

With the B.C. election too close to call, Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked Tuesday how she feels about the possibility of a party that has repeatedly called for her firing forming government.

Local Spotlight

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.

The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.

A Moncton, N.B., home has been donated to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation and will be transformed into a resource hub for people living with cancer.

A Nova Scotia man crossing Canada on foot is passing through southwestern Ontario. Trevor Redmond is perhaps better known as the 鈥楩ellow in Yellow.鈥