7-Year-Old Girl Drowns After Makeshift Boat Carrying 16 Migrants Sank in Northern France

migrants capsized boats 7 year old

By Jackelyn Cornejo , Parent Herald Mar 04, 09:45 am

A seven-year-old girl lost her life when a small vessel, trying to cross the English Channel, capsized in northern France. The boat, carrying 16 migrants, sank near the Dunkirk coast. Authorities disclosed the boat was not large enough to carry the passengers on board.

Makeshift Boat Capsizes, 7-Year-Old Girl Drowns

The parents of the dead girl, along with three other children, were hospitalized. Local authorities implied the vessel was likely stolen and inadequate for the number of people on board.

The couple on board, with four children, including a pregnant mother, hailed from an unclear origin. Two men and six children were hospitalized, with non-life-threatening situations.

Prosecutors in Dunkirk have imprisoned certain individuals in relation to the occurrence. This misfortune happened amid a series of channel crossing attempts, with 249 people rescued on the same day.

In 2022, over 2,000 migrants have already reached the UK, according to Home Office data.

A makeshift vessel carrying 16 people from northern France to the UK capsized near Dunkirk, resulting in the deadly passing of a seven-year-old girl, as verified by the prefecture in France's Nord department.

The migrants included 10 other young people, aged seven to 13, the girl's pregnant woman, father, and three siblings. Despite emergency services' efforts, the little girl could not be resuscitated.

The incident, located 16 miles inland, raises concerns about smugglers' tactics to avoid detection. Daniel Deschodt, the mayor of Watten, noted this as a new trend, indicating migrants departing from further inland due to coastal saturation.

This marks the sixth known death in 2024 related to people-smuggling across the Channel. Collaboration between the EU and the UK to combat criminal gangs, particularly those led by Iraqi Kurds operating from Germany, has been emphasized.

Recent arrests in Calais disrupted a significant gang, prompting discussions on migration legislation during a meeting of home affairs ministers in Brussels.

However, a report by the NGO Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime suggests that heightened migration barriers may strengthen the control of organized criminals rather than break it.

English Channel Crossing Attempts

On Sunday, French authorities announced the death of a youthful girl after a small boat capsized on the delicate route across the English Channel, frequently used by migrants pursuing to reach Britain from France.

The incident occurred off the coast of Dunkirk, involving a vessel deemed too small for its 16 passengers. Among the inhabitants were a couple with four children, and terribly, their 7-year-old daughter passed away in the submerging occurrence.

The girl's parents, along with her three siblings, were rescued and taken to a hospital. Additionally, another couple, two men, and six young children were rescued with minor injuries.

This unfortunate event follows a similar incident on Wednesday when three people died in an English Channel crossing attempt.

According to maritime authorities overseeing French waters, approximately 180 people were assisted in four rescue operations on that day. The UK government's figures from the start of 2024 indicated that around 30,000 people made the crossing in 2023.