Three dead, including child, in Channel crossing attempt

A 10-year-old child and two 30-year-old women have died after a small boat that was attempting to cross the English Channel got into difficulty off the northern coast of France, local authorities have said.

Officials responded to a distress call from the boat, which was carrying 105 people, after it departed from the Blériot Plage in Sangatte on Monday morning.

Three passengers were treated on board but were later confirmed dead by an emergency medical team flown out by helicopter, the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said.

Pas-de-Calais prefecture said its initial findings suggested the deaths were caused by trampling but an investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause.

Of the 102 other people on board, nine were treated by emergency services upon their arrival in the port of Calais, the prefecture said.

François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, blamed the incident on smuggling networks, which he said expose vulnerable people, including children, to the deadly risks of crossings.

The prefecture described the boat as a taxi-boat, which requires migrants to wade out onto the water to board.

Three other people died after similar taxi-boat departures last week, French authorities said.

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