Two-year-old migrant boy 'trampled to death' with three others in double Channel crossing tragedy
5 October 2024, 13:28 | Updated: 5 October 2024, 18:57
A two-year-old boy was 'trampled to death' in a double tragedy in the English Channel in which a woman and two men were also killed, French authorities have confirmed.
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France's maritime prefect confirmed the tragedy which took place on Saturday morning aboard two overcrowded boats.
The incident took place in French waters.
France's Interior Minister called it as "terrible tragedy" and said people smugglers "have the blood of these people on their hands".
Local newspaper, La Voix Du Nord, has reported that three people had died off Calais and one near Boulogne, with rescue operations ongoing.
A local official is due to give a press conference in Calais later.
Aujourd’hui plusieurs personnes ont péri en tentant de traverser la Manche. Un enfant est mort piétiné dans une embarcation. Épouvantable drame qui doit tous nous faire prendre conscience de la tragédie qui se joue. Les passeurs ont le sang de ces personnes sur les mains et notre…
— Bruno Retailleau (@BrunoRetailleau) October 5, 2024
The French interior minister Bruno Retailleau posted on X about the incident.
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."
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The fatal incident comes after the Home Office confirmed that 395 migrants arrived in the UK crossed the English Channel on Friday in the first arrivals in five days.
The latest arrivals, who had travelled in seven boats, bring the total for the year to 25,639.
This compares to 25,330 by the same date last year and 33,611 in 2022.
Some of those arriving on Friday were pictured wearing life jackets as they were brought to shore at Dover on a Border Force vessel.
The arrivals came on the same day as the UK and other G7 nations agreed an anti-smuggling action plan designed to boost co-operation on the issue following talks in Italy.
The Home Office said this includes joint investigations and intelligence-sharing in a bid to target criminal smuggling routes.
The action plan also details "working collaboratively" with social media companies to monitor the internet and different platforms to prevent them being used to enable migrant smuggling and people trafficking.
This includes calling on social media companies "to do more to respond to online content that advertises migrant smuggling services".
Pollster says Labour must develop clear small boats strategy to hold off Reform
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."
