A two-year-old boy was “trampled to death” as he and three adults lost their lives while attempting to cross the English Channel on Saturday, French authorities have said.
Jacques Billant, prefect of Pas-de-Calais region, said the French coastguard responded to a boat carrying almost 90 people which suffered engine failure.
Fifteen people were transferred to a tow vessel, including the boy, who was unconscious.
A medical team was sent by helicopter, but he was pronounced dead.
He was “trampled to death”, French interior minister Bruno Retailleau said on X.
He added: “The people smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death.”
Yvette Cooper, the UK home secretary, replied to Mr Retailleau on the social media site, saying it was “appalling” that more lives had been lost in the channel, “including a young child”.
“Criminal smuggler gangs” do not care “if people live or die”, she added.
Ms Cooper said she had been in touch with Mr Retailleau and wants to “increase cooperation and law enforcement”.
In a second incident, a boat with 83 people on board also suffered engine failure.
Three passengers were found unconscious at the bottom of the vessel, Mr Billant said. They were “probably crushed and suffocated”.
He explained: “Despite the intervention of the doctors, they were declared dead. They are two men and a woman, all three around 30 years old.
“Two new tragedies occurred at sea this morning. The toll is very heavy, since we deeply regret the death of four people: two men, a woman and a child.”
The two incidents on Saturday followed previous fatalities on 3 and 15 September, Mr Billant told reporters.
The total number of deaths so far this year is 51, he said. The figure for 2023 is reportedly 12.
The migrants rescued on Saturday were from Eritrea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Kuwait and Iraq, he added.
![Acting Sergeant Chris Hook, from City of London Police, said the speed and weight of illegally modified e-bikes "massively" heightens the danger for pedestrians involved in collisions. He said: "The heaviest one I've seen was in excess of 50kg. That bike [could reach over] 60mph. "If that impacts with somebody, it's likely to cause either serious injury or, God forbid, death." The acting sergeant noted a "broad spectrum" of people ride illegally modified e-bikes, such as commuters, food delivery workers and criminals snatching phones. In one operation outside London's Liverpool Street railway station this month, police caught a rider using an illegal e-bike featuring a motor with a maximum power output of 500 watts, which is twice the legal limit. The bike also had severely worn out tyres and a bundle of loose electric wires stored in a soaking wet pouch. An officer at the scene described the bike as "a death trap", adding: "This could easily kill him or someone else."](https://british2day.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/skynews-sergeant-chris-hook_6694772-300x169.jpg)
