Child migrant dies in English Channel after falling from small boat

A child migrant has tragically died in the English Channel after falling off a small boat this morning.

The child was onboard a crammed dinghy, which also saw 48 other migrants fall into the sea. However, they were rescued. Emergency services commander Jonathan Caruso said the boat ‘continued on to England,’ carrying around 50 people.

The child’s body washed up on nearby Écault beach. Cécile Gressier, prosecutor in the Frenchport town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, confirmed the details and said an investigation is underway. The tragic death comes just one day after two Somali women died in similar circumstances. 

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She said: "An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the death. The victim's age and nationality have not been determined." The latest death means that at least 21 people have died this year as they attempt to reach Britain from France on a small boat. The two Somali women migrants died on Saturday, off the coast near Neufchâtel-Hardelot, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

They either suffocated on the packed boat before it disintegrated, or drowned in the sea. Boulogne prosecutors have opened a criminal enquiry into all the weekend deaths, as they try to find the people smugglers responsible for launching the boat.

Children were among three who died on the route earlier this month after they were crushed at the bottom of a boat. At total of 78 migrants died in 2024 while trying to reach England in the same way.

This was a record since smugglers started launching small boats full of migrants in 2018. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has said of such tragedies: ‘Our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death.’

In April 2024, a criminal enquiry was launched following the deaths of five migrants including a little girl around Wimereux, near Calais. The worst tragedy of this kind came in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have pledged to 'strengthen cooperation' to fight the people smugglers, but they are regulary criticised for not doing enough. Both have hoped that their ‘one-in-one-out’ plan will in time provide a deterrent for would-be asylum seekers if they believe they risk being quickly sent back. But more than 32,000 people have crossed so far this year, and the boats continue to launch.