More than 970 migrants crossed English Channel in small boats on Saturday – highest daily total in two years

MORE than 970 migrants crossed Channel into UK connected Saturday - successful the highest regular full truthful acold this year.

A full of 973 migrants successful 17 boats crossed the English Channel from France to Britain yesterday.

The erstwhile grounds this twelvemonth was 882 radical connected June 18, according to authorities figures.

Four radical died portion attempting to transverse the Channel connected Saturday - including a two-year-old lad who was "trampled to death".

The kid was recovered connected a tiny vessel with astir 90 migrants reportedly crammed onto it yesterday morning.

Regional authoritative Guirec Le Bras said the kid was "crushed" to decease erstwhile the boat’s motor failed disconnected the seashore of Boulogne-sur-Mer successful bluish France.

French authorities said the kid who died was calved successful Germany.

The mother, a 24-year-old pistillate from Somalia, was being treated by medics aft the tragedy.

In a abstracted tragedy, different radical of migrants had to beryllium rescued disconnected the seashore of Calais aft their vessel suffered motor failure, causing wide panic.

Some radical fell into the oversea and had to beryllium rescued, with 2 men and 1 woman, each aged astir 30, discovered unconscious astatine the bottommost of the boat.

Pas-de-Calais determination prefect Jacques Billant said they had "probably crushed, suffocated and drowned" successful the h2o which had gathered successful the vessel.

Those progressive successful the 2 attempted crossings were from Eritrea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Kuwait, and Iraq.

Local prefect Billant told reporters today: “We deplore the information the traffickers instrumentality adjacent greater hazard with people’s lives, not lone adults but much and much families with children, babies to whom they merchantability a transition crossed a unsafe oversea successful an inappropriate vessel.

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