Child dies after falling off migrant boat carrying almost 100 individuals within the English Channel – earlier than dinghy is allowed to ‘proceed on to Britain’
A child migrant died today after falling off an English Channel small boat – before the overcrowded dinghy continued on its voyage to the UK.
The horrific incident on Sunday morning followed two Somali women dying in similar circumstances the day before.
Of the latest death, Cécile Gressier, prosecutor in the French port town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, said the child’s body washed up on nearby Écault beach.
‘An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the death,’ said Ms Gressier. ‘The victim’s age and nationality have not been determined.’
Other sources at the scene suggested that the deceased was a young teenager
Emergency services commander Jonathan Caruso said 48 other migrants who were on the same boat were rescued after falling into the sea, before the dinghy ‘continued on to England,’ with around 50 still onboard.
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.
Migrants sit on an inflatable boat during an attempt to cross the English Channel, off the beach of Gravelines, northern France, 27 September 2025
The horrific incident on Sunday morning followed two Somali women dying in similar circumstances the day before (pictured)
Migrants arrive on a beach to board an inflatable boat during an attempt to cross the English Channel, off the beach of Gravelines, northern France, 27 September 2025
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.
