Five migrants including a child die in attempted Channel crossing from France
At least five migrants, including a child, died overnight trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain on their overcrowded small boat, local authorities said on Tuesday.
Three men and a woman were also among those killed on the dinghy carrying 110 people from the beach in the town of Wimereux, close to the resort of Boulogne-sur-Mer, the local government office told French news agency AFP.
"After hitting a sand bank, the boat made it back out to sea. A crush then appears to have happened on board the overcrowded boat, leading to several casualties," they said, without providing further details.
On Tuesday morning, police had cordoned off the beach, an AFP journalist said. Two ambulance helicopters were stationed nearby.
The migrants had attempted to cross when the sea was calm but the temperature was barely above zero degrees Celsius.
It is the latest in a series of such tragedies as migrants, many from the Middle East and Africa, attempt the perilous sea crossing for what they hope will be a better future in Britain.
So far this year at least 15 people have died trying to reach English shores, according to an AFP tally.
Stepped-up patrols
On 3 March, a seven-year-old Iraqi girl named Rola drowned in the capsizing of an overcrowded migrant boat in the Aa canal, around 30 kilometres inland from France's northern coast. Her parents and brothers survived.
In late February, a 22-year-old Turkish man died and two more people went missing in the Channel off Calais.
Twelve migrants lost their lives last year trying to cross the Channel, French authorities say.
(with AFP)
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