A 2-year-old boy tragically lost his life aboard an overcrowded migrant boat attempting to cross the English Channel from France to Britain, French authorities confirmed on Saturday. Three other migrants also died during the perilous journey.
The unconscious child was discovered on an inflatable dinghy carrying 15 other migrants, rescued near the coast of Calais, according to the French Maritime Prefecture in La Manche, Normandy.
Rescue efforts were initiated, with the child being transferred to the rescue vessel Abeille Normandie, and medical personnel were flown in by military helicopter. Despite resuscitation attempts, the child was pronounced dead shortly after.
Jacques Billant, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, stated the child “suffocated to death” amid a surge of passengers aboard the vessel, which was carrying nearly 90 people when rescuers arrived.
