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A seven-year-old girl drowned on Sunday in the Aa, a canalized watercourse in the north of France that flows into the North Sea. She was on a small vessel that capsized near the municipality of Watten. There were sixteen migrants on board, the prefecture of the Northern Department reported.
According to the authorities, the boat was not suitable for so many people. According to the prefecture, the accident occurred a few kilometers inland, shortly after the migrants had boarded. Everyone had fallen into the water. A hiker notified the emergency services.
The girl’s parents were also on board, with their three children. They were taken to a hospital in Dunkirk. A total of ten people were taken to hospital. The vessel is believed to have been stolen.
This is already the third fatal accident during an attempt to cross the Channel towards Great Britain. On Wednesday, a 22-year-old Turk died at sea near Calais. Two other migrants then went missing. In January, five people drowned near Wimereux.
Last year, twelve migrants died crossing the canal. That year, 29,437 migrants reached British shores illegally, compared to 45,774 in record year 2022.
