Girl, 7, drowns in attempt to cross English Channel after boat capsized
03.03.2024 - 17:23
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A seven-year-old girl has drowned during an attempt to cross the English Channel. The girl sadly died after the boat she was on, which was carrying 16 migrants, capsized, French officials said.
Authorities in France say there were 10 children on the boat and a pregnant woman. The parents of the child who died have been taken to hospital in Dunkirk after the boat got into trouble in the early hours of this morning (March 3).
Officials say the boat was too small for 16 people and none of those aboard were wearing lifejackets. The boat capsized an hour before sunrise this morning as people were trying to board.
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A walker raised the alarm and police and firefighters attended the boat that was in the Canal de l’Aa in Watten, local authority Prefet du Nord added.
This week’s Home Office figures showed more than 2,000 migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the strait between England and France.
The number of Channel arrivals is 32% lower than the total recorded this time last year (2,953) but 49% higher than the total at this stage in 2022 (1,482).
Some 29,437 migrants arrived in the UK after making the crossing in 2023, down 36% on a record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
The Home Office said there were no new arrivals on Tuesday or Monday this week, but 290 asylum seekers arrived across five boats last Sunday.