Stories
Child, 2 Women Die in Apparent Stampede During Perilous Channel Crossing Attempt
- •A 10-year-old child and two women died during a Channel crossing attempt from France, reportedly trampled on a crowded boat.
- •The incident occurred on a "taxi boat" carrying over 100 people that encountered difficulties off the northern French coast.
- •French authorities stated the deaths appear to be caused by a stampede, with a judicial investigation underway to determine precise circumstances.
- •A French maritime rescue boat took aboard 105 people; an intensive care team declared the child and two women, believed to be in their 30s, dead.
- •Nine other individuals required medical treatment following the tragic event.
Key Questions Answered
According to the initial findings of the investigation, the deaths were caused by an apparent stampede on a heavily overloaded inflatable boat carrying more than 100 people. The precise circumstances of the tragedy are being examined by a judicial investigation led by a prosecutor in Boulogne.
A French maritime rescue boat successfully took aboard 105 people from the distressed vessel. Among those rescued, an intensive care team helicoptered aboard declared a 10-year-old child and two women dead, while nine other individuals required medical treatment.
The dangerous migration route involves so-called taxi boats that pick up passengers from the beaches of northern France as migrants wade into the sea to clamber aboard. These inflatable boats often become dangerously packed, as seen in this incident where over 100 people were crowded onto a single vessel.
