At least three suspected people smugglers were taken into custody in France this evening following the death of a seven-year-old girl who was on a migrant boat to Britain overcrowded with children.
The deceased – who has not been identified – died at around 6.30am on Sunday after falling into the River Aa near Watten, about 20 miles inland from Calais.
She was with her parents and four other adults hoping to get 10 children aged between seven and 13 to the English Channel and then to Britain to seek asylum.
But the flimsy inflatable dinghy they were in collapsed within minutes, plunging everyone into the cold water about an hour before sunrise.
None of those on board the stolen vessel were wearing life jackets or carrying any form of life-saving equipment.
A file photo of a group of migrants on an inflatable dinghy as they attempt to cross the English Channel from the coast of northern France
File photo of a group of migrants traveling in a rubber boat across the waters of the English Channel towards the south coast of England
The latest crossings bring the provisional total of arrivals in 2024 so far to 2,006
Charlotte Huet, the Dunkirk prosecutor, said the seven-year-old girl was pulled from the water by rescuers but died “as a result of cardiac arrest.”
She was traveling with her pregnant mother and her father, along with three siblings.
They were all taken into care by social services, along with the six other children, while the arrests were made within hours.
Ms Huet confirmed that at least three suspected people smugglers were handcuffed and led away by gendarmes.
The prosecutor said a criminal investigation has been opened for “manslaughter, unintentionally causing injury, criminal conspiracy and aiding illegal immigration within an organized gang while endangering others.”
She said none of the identities of those involved in the case, nor their countries of origin, could yet be confirmed.
The 16 people on board the stricken boat had hoped to evade police patrols and enter the English Channel, close to the Belgian border.
Border Force Hurricane escorts 60 migrants to Dover Docks, Kent, on March 3
A group of migrants were seen walking back along a beach in Calais today after a failed crossing attempt
“It is a route that has been used by human smugglers before,” says an investigative source. ‘On this occasion the boat was overloaded and too weak to support those on board, including women and children.
‘There was chaos in the water after the boat collapsed, killing a seven-year-old girl.
‘Others were rescued and taken to a sports hall in Watten, where they were questioned by the police.’
The river As rises near the village of Bourthes and flows into the sea at Gravelines, near Dunkirk.
It follows three migrants who went missing in dense fog and high winds in the Channel on Wednesday after their small boat bound for Britain capsized.
One was confirmed dead after his body was recovered, while two others are also believed to have drowned at sea.
Three bodies were reportedly recovered from the English Channel on Thursday. Pictured: a Border Force Defender escort in Dover
Dozens of migrants were landed at the port of Dover on Thursday – after battling to cross the Channel in dense fog
Despite the poor conditions, people smugglers took advantage of a brief lull in even heavier weather to drive several migrant boats away from the French coast.
The latest fatality also follows the deaths of five migrants while trying to reach Britain on January 14.
In 2023, around 29,000 people reached the UK in small boats, despite the British government saying stopping them was a priority.
The country is trying to move forward with a plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, despite the London High Court ruling that the policy is unlawful.
In August last year, six people were killed when a boat carrying migrants sank in the Channel off the French coast.
And in November 2021, at least 27 migrants died after a rubber boat sank while en route to Britain – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.