A two-year-old boy was ‘trampled to death’ on an overcrowded boat off the coast of France whilst attempting to cross the English Channel Saturday, the Prefect of Pas-de-Calais region has confirmed.
A woman and two men also died today while crossing the Channel in a separate incident.
In a news conference, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais, Jacques Billant, said rescuers found the two-year-old child dead onboard a migrant boat that had called for assistance Saturday morning.
Fourteen other migrants picked up on board the rescue boat were brought back to France to be interviewed by the border police and a 17-year-old was brought to a hospital in the port city of Boulogne-sur-Mer as he suffered from burns to his legs.
The French interior minister Bruno Retailleau posted on X that ‘several people had died’. Pictured: A small boat crossing the English Channel earlier today
Local reports say that three people had died off Calais and one near Boulogne, with rescue operations…