(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
Lille, France: A minor died when an overcrowded boat attempted to cross the channel to Britain and another would-be asylum seeker was injured and airlifted to hospital, French authorities said on Saturday.
The migrant boat issued a call for assistance on Saturday morning and rescuers picked up 14 people on board, including the deceased, whose precise age and sex were not yet known, they said.
The injured person was airlifted to hospital in Boulogne, northern France, maritime authorities said.
The other passengers continued their journey.
The officials said the accident was not a shipwreck and the deceased had been found in the boat, not in the water.
The rescue operation took place between 8:00 am and 9:00 am on Saturday.
The latest tragedy means 47 would-be asylum seekers have lost their lives attempting to reach England from France so far this year.
The French and British governments have sought for years to stop the flow of undocumented migrants, who may pay smugglers thousands of euros per head for the passage to England from France aboard small boats.
French authorities seek to stop people taking to the water but do not intervene once they are afloat except for rescue purposes, citing safety concerns.
France's new right-wing prime minister, Michel Barnier, said on Tuesday the country needed a stricter immigration policy.
He vowed to be "ruthless" with people traffickers, who he said "exploit misery and despair" and encourage undocumented asylum seekers to cross the Channel and the Mediterranean.
The latest incident comes after eight migrants died in mid-September when their overcrowded vessel capsized while trying to cross the Channel.
In early September at least 12 people including six minors, mostly from Eritrea, died off the northern French coast when their loaded boat capsized.
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