4 migrants die when attempting to cross English Channel

Four migrants including a 2-year-old child died overnight Friday while attempting to cross the English Channel illegally, the French Pas-de-Calais prefecture said Saturday afternoon, reported Xinhua.

The incident was a "horrific tragedy that should make us all aware of the ongoing catastrophe", French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on the social platform X.

Since January, at least 46 illegal migrants have lost their lives attempting to cross the Channel to reach the United Kingdom, not including the victims of the latest incidents on Saturday, according to a tally by AFP, making the year 2024 the most deadly since 2018 when the cross-Channel migration phenomenon began.

Meanwhile, on the British side, over 25,000 migrants have arrived via makeshift boats this year alone, according to official UK government reports from September.