Four people, including a two-year-old child, died on Saturday during two attempts to reach England via the English Channel from France in small boats.
The tragic incidents occurred amid a rise in crossing attempts since Thursday, benefiting from favourable weather conditions.
These fatalities bring the total number of deaths this year during crossings to 51, according to Jacques Billant, the Prefect of Pas-de-Calais in northern France.
In the first incident, a boat carrying nearly 90 people experienced an engine failure off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer. A two-year-old child was found unresponsive and could not be revived, Billant explained in a press conference.
Initial reports suggest the child was “crushed,” stated Guirec Le Bras, the public prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Numerous rescues in chaotic situations
Fourteen other migrants were rescued, including a 17-year-old who was hospitalised for leg burns. The remaining passengers chose to continue their journey to England.
In the second incident, another overloaded boat departing from near Calais had multiple engine failures, causing panic. Some migrants fell overboard but were rescued.
Three individuals, two men and a woman around 30 years old, were found unresponsive at the bottom of the boat. They were likely crushed, suffocated, and drowned in the 40 cm of water at the boat’s base, according to the Prefect.
Among the three adults, one was Vietnamese and the other two were of African origin. The child who died in the first boat was born in Germany to a Somali mother, according to the prosecutor.
