A tragic incident in the Channel has claimed the life of a seven-year-old girl, according to French authorities, as migrants attempted to sail to Britain.
A small boat, carrying 16 migrants, was en route from northern France to Britain when it overturned, as stated by the prefecture in France’s Nord department.
The local authority stated in a release that the boat ‘was not appropriately sized to carry so many people,’ leading to its capsizing shortly after departure from the Aa canal, just a few kilometers from the coast.
The statement further mentioned that the parents of the girl, along with three more of their children, were transported to a hospital in Dunkirk.
The ‘apparently stolen’ boat also carried another couple, two additional men, and six young children, all of whom were taken to the hospital.