Baby dies after boat capsizes in attempted Channel crossing | Immigration and asylum

A baby died after a boat carrying people in the Channel towards Britain capsized off the French coast, local coastguards have said.

The incident happened on Thursday night when 65 people were rescued after an overloaded boat started to sink off the coast of Wissant in northern France. Some people were in the water when rescuers arrived. An unconscious baby was found in the water and was later declared dead.

The local prefecture said: “Rescuers found that the boat, which was heavily loaded was in difficulty and that some people were in the water. Rescuers began to recover the people in difficulty. At the same time further searches were carried out to find people who could be stranded at sea.”

On 5 October, the most recent incident before this one, a two-year-old child was crushed to death and three others also died.