A two-year-old child and three others died in an attempt to cross the English Channel last week, shortly after G7 members had agreed a crackdown on migrant smuggling networks.
There were waves of panic in an overcrowded dinghy carrying about 90 migrants in the early hours. Eyewitnesses said the vessel suffered multiple motor failures, leading the passengers to feel unstable and begin trampling over one another. In the chaos some went overboard but were later rescued or managed to clamber ashore. A similar panic was seen a short time later on another small boat thought to be carrying 83 migrants, with three bodies being found at the base of the boat once it was abandoned. Jacques Billant, the Prefect of the Pas-de-Calais, said the victims were probably “crushed, suffocated and drowned” in the water at the base of the boat.
According to French Blue Radio, a migrant on the first dinghy had called at 7 am, saying that they found a dead child on the boat and warning that more lives were at risk if there was no intervention. Rescue vessel Abeille Normandy was sent in response.
The tragedy occurred hours after the UK Home Office announced on Friday that G7 countries had agreed on a new international plan to crack down on criminal gangs responsible for smuggling illegal migrants to the UK. Figures from the Home Office show on 4 October 395 migrants arrived in the UK in small boats, with more than 25,000 people crossing the channel in 2024 so far. At least 194 migrants have died attempting the crossing from 2018 to September 2024, according to estimates from the International Organisation for Migration.
French and British officials issued statements condemning the migrant smugglers, holding them accountable for the deaths. France’s interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, posted on X: “This appalling tragedy should make us all aware of the catastrophe that is unfolding. The people smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who enrich themselves by organising these crossings of death.”
The UK Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, also posted on X: “It is appalling that more lives have been lost in the Channel today, including a young child, as criminal smuggler gangs continue to organise these dangerous boat crossings. The gangs do not care if people live or die – this is a terrible trade in lives.”
The G7 new plan to combat organised migrant traffickers continues the UK’s effort to reduce illegal migration, following the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The legislation tightened laws around illegal entry where people crossing the English Channel in small boats (e.g., dinghies) without authorisation are treated as criminals. Illegal entrants were dealt with through administrative immigration processes prior to the act.
