Attempts to cross the English Channel on small boats leave 4 migrants, including a child, dead

PARIS (AP) — French authorities say four migrants, including a 2-year-old child, have died in two separate incidents as they were attempting to cross the English Channel toward Britain. France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau deplored a “terrible tragedy” on X, saying that the child “was trampled to death in a boat.” In a news conference, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais said rescuers found the 2-year-old child dead onboard a migrant boat that had called for assistance on Saturday morning. He said rescuers in a separate incident found three migrants dead and saved several others. Saturday’s deaths come as a series of shipwrecks made 2024 the deadliest in recent years on the English Channel.