Journal De Bruxelles - Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing

The child was found in an overloaded dinghy when migrants issued a call for assistance on Saturday morning. The boat was carrying nearly 90 people and suffered engine failure off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.

Citing initial information, regional prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said the child was "crushed" to death.

Fourteen other migrants were picked up by French authorities including a 17-year-old teenager who had to be hospitalised with burns to his legs, officials said. The other passengers continued their journey.

French authorities say they seek to stop people taking to the water but do not intervene once they are afloat except for rescue purposes, citing safety concerns.

Another boat overcrowded with migrants also suffered engine failure off the coast of Calais, leading to panic. Some migrants fell into the sea and were rescued.

Three people -- two men and a woman aged around 30 -- were then discovered unconscious at the bottom of the boat, Pas-de-Calais regional prefect Jacques Billant told reporters.

The three were "probably crushed, suffocated and drowned" in the water at the bottom of the boat, added the prefect.

The interior ministers of France and Britain condemned the "appalling" tragedies.

"A child was trampled to death in a boat," France's hard-line interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X, adding that several other people had died in the "appalling tragedy."

"The smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these gangs who enrich themselves by organising these deadly crossings," Retailleau added.

- 'Terrible trade in lives' -

British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper struck a similar note.

"It is appalling that more lives have been lost in the Channel today, including a young child, as criminal smuggler gangs continue to organise these dangerous boat crossings," she said.

"The gangs do not care if people live or die -- this is a terrible trade in lives."

Cooper said on X she was in touch with Retailleau, adding the two met this week to discuss "our determination to increase cooperation and law enforcement to pursue and dismantle criminal gangs."

The latest tragedies bring to 51 the number of migrants who have died attempting to reach England from France so far this year, according to Billant.

Channel crossings to Britain by undocumented asylum seekers have surged since 2018 despite repeated warnings about the perilous journey. The Channel has heavy maritime traffic, icy waters and strong currents.

Migrants sometimes get crushed or trampled to death in overcrowded boats.

In July, a 21-year-old woman from Kuwait was crushed to death in a migrant boat off the French coast.

- French, UK migrant measures -

The French and British governments have sought to stop the flow of undocumented migrants, who may pay smugglers thousands of euros per head for the passage to England from France aboard small boats.

France's new right-wing prime minister, Michel Barnier, said on Tuesday the country needed a stricter immigration policy.

He vowed to be "ruthless" with people traffickers, who he said "exploit misery and despair" that pushed undocumented asylum seekers to risk trying to cross the Channel and the Mediterranean.

The latest tragedies come after eight migrants died in mid-September when their overcrowded vessel capsized while trying to cross the Channel.

In early September at least 12 people including six minors, mostly from Eritrea, died off the northern French coast when their boat capsized.

The number of migrants arriving in Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats has topped 25,000 since the start of the year.

Stopping the small boat arrivals on England's southern coast was a key issue in Britain's general election in July.

Britain's Cooper has said the government aims over the next six months to achieve the highest rate of deportations of failed asylum seekers in five years.

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R.Verbruggen--JdB