A young child died last night off the coast of France after an overcrowded boat capsized was trying to reach England illegally, the French authorities announced this morning to France Presse, quoted by BTA.
During a search operation in the waters off Wisan in the Pas de Calais department, “65 people were pulled out and rescued”, but “during the search, an unconscious small child was found in the water and, unfortunately, pronounced dead” ;, announced the Maritime Administration for the English Channel and the North Sea.
This death brings the number of people who have died trying to cross the Channel between France and England since the start of the year to 52 – a record number since 2018, when the first small boats used by migrants began sailing across the Channel to reach England.
Children are often among the victims. On September 3, half of the 12 victims of the worst shipwreck of the year were minors. On October 5, a two-year-old child suffocated to death in a boat overcrowded with 90 people that had engine trouble.
Conditions crossing the English Channel, one of the busiest sea routes in the world, according to the Maritime Administration, are dangerous, especially on board overloaded boats with only a few life jackets.
Boats that have reached British shores since the start of the year have carried an average of 53 passengers, compared with just 13 in 2020, official figures from British authorities show. Since the beginning of the year, over 26,000 migrants have arrived in England by crossing the English Channel.