Fresh Channel tragedy as child on migrant ship dies
A baby died when an overloaded migrant boat headed for Britain sank in the Channel off the coast of France on Thursday night.
Sixty five people were rescued from the boat but a ‘baby was found unconscious and sadly declared dead’, French maritime authorities have said.
The accident, which is the latest sinking of a migrant ship, occurred off the French town of Wissant, ten miles southwest of Calais, last night.
It brings the number of migrants who have perished while trying to cross the Channel this year to at least 52 – a record since 2018.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard the RNLI Dungeness Lifeboat on September 3 (file photo)
On September 3, six children and an equal number of adults died. A month later, a two-year-old boy and three adults died after overloaded boats got into trouble during the dangerous crossing.
The number of migrants arriving in boats to Britain averaged 53 this year as opposed to 13 in 2020, according to official British figures.
Over 26,000 migrants have landed on British shores since January 1, according to UK Home Office figures.
This is a breaking news story – more to follow
