Child ‘trampled’ among fatalities on Channel boat, says French minister | Immigration and asylum

A child was reportedly among the many people killed trying to cross the Channel, according to French officials.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau suggested the child had been “trampled to death” on a boat.

“Several migrants have lost their lives again trying to reach Britain by crossing the Channel,” the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said in a statement on Saturday.

The child, said to be around three or four years old, was found in the crowded boat after passengers sent an SOS message to rescue services.

The rescue operation was carried out by maritime monitoring and rescue center Cross Griz-Nez, which said the incident was not a shipwreck but that 14 people on board, including Iraqis, Somalis, Ethiopians, Iranians and Afghans, had requested help.

One injured person was taken by helicopter to hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer and twelve others were rescued.

Almost three weeks ago, eight people were killed when their small boat sank off the French coast as they tried to cross the Channel. At the beginning of September, twelve people died when their vessel broke down in the sea.

Retailleau wrote on X: “This terrible tragedy should make us all aware of the catastrophe that is unfolding. The human traffickers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who enrich themselves by organizing these crusades of death.”

Retailleau suggested that “several” people had died.

Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of the town of Le Portel, off the coast of which the rescue took place on Saturday, said the dead child was about four years old. After a number of people were removed from the dinghy, it was reported that the other passengers insisted on continuing their journey across the Channel.

On Friday, the Home Office announced that G7 countries had agreed “a major new international plan to destroy the criminal gangs responsible for smuggling illegal migrants into Britain”.

Ministers said the new plan would strengthen border security, fight transnational organized crime and protect vulnerable people from exploitation by people smugglers. The agreement was reached following discussions by Home Affairs Minister Yvette Cooper at the G7 Home Affairs and Security Ministers meeting in Avellino, Italy.

Cooper said: “Criminal smuggling gangs operating small boat crossings are undermining our border security and endangering lives. Our new government is quickly accelerating cooperation with other countries to crack down on these dangerous gangs.”

Enver Solomon, the CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “This is yet another devastating and avoidable tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. Each of these lives represents someone who sought safety and the hope of a future free from war and persecution.

“There have been many more deaths this year than last year, which is a clear indication that a different approach is urgently needed. It is crucial that the government now adopts a multi-pronged strategy to tackle dangerous border crossings, which includes not only trying to disrupt the gangs, but also providing safer and legal routes for refugees, as well as meaningful cooperation with European partners .”

On Friday, 395 people crossed in seven boats, after a pause due to bad weather conditions, according to Interior Ministry figures, while in the previous six days only one boat crossed with 59 people on board.

The latest arrivals, who had traveled in seven boats, bring the total for the year to 25,639. This compared to 25,330 on the same date last year and 33,611 in 2022.