CALAIS, France, Oct 6, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A two-year-old boy was crushed to death and several adult migrants died in two separate tragedies overnight when their overcrowded boats tried to cross the Channel to Britain, French officials said Saturday.

The child was found unresponsive in an overloaded dinghy when migrants issued a call for assistance on Saturday morning. The boat was carrying nearly 90 people and suffered engine failure off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France. The boy could not be saved, a regional prefect told reporters.

Citing initial information, Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said the child -- who was born in Germany to a Somali mother -- was "crushed" to death.

Fourteen other migrants were picked up by French authorities including a 17-year-old teenager who had to be hospitalised with burns to his legs, officials said. The other passengers continued their journey.

French authorities say they seek to stop people taking to the water but do not intervene once they are afloat except for rescue purposes, citing safety concerns.

Another boat overcrowded with migrants also suffered engine failure off the coast of Calais, leading to panic. Some migrants fell into the sea and were rescued.

Three people -- two men and a woman aged around 30 -- were then discovered unconscious at the bottom of the boat, Pas-de-Calais prefect Jacques Billant said.

The three were "probably crushed, suffocated and drowned" in the water at the bottom of the boat, added the prefect. One of the adult victims was Vietnamese, and the other two are of "African origin," according to prosecutors.

The interior ministers of France and Britain condemned the "appalling" tragedies.
 
"A child was trampled to death in a boat," France's hard-line interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X, adding that several other people had died in the "appalling tragedy."

"The smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these gangs who enrich themselves by organising these deadly crossings," Retailleau added.

- 'Terrible trade in lives' -

British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper struck a similar note.

"It is appalling that more lives have been lost in the Channel today, including a young child, as criminal smuggler gangs continue to organise these dangerous boat crossings," she said.

"The gangs do not care if people live or die -- this is a terrible trade in lives."

Cooper said on X she was in touch with Retailleau, adding the two met this week to discuss "our determination to increase cooperation and law enforcement to pursue and dismantle criminal gangs."

The latest tragedies bring to 51 the number of migrants who have died attempting to reach England from France so far this year, according to Billant.

The prefect said that inflatable boats used by migrants are of poor quality without enough life jackets for everyone on board.

He also said traffickers did not "hesitate to separate young children from their parents."

Channel crossings to Britain by undocumented asylum seekers have surged since 2018 despite repeated warnings about the perilous journey. The Channel has heavy maritime traffic, icy waters and strong currents.

Migrants sometimes get crushed or trampled to death in overcrowded boats.

In July, a 21-year-old woman from Kuwait was crushed to death in a boat off the French coast.

- 'Misery and despair' -

The French and British governments have sought 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.

Channel crossings have accelerated since Thursday due to good weather.

Since Thursday evening, police have prevented 31 attempted crossings and more than 250 migrants have been rescued at sea, French authorities said.

In comments broadcast on Saturday, President Emmanuel Macron said "the difficulty at the moment is how we manage to fight against human traffickers, these illegal immigration networks."

But he said immigration itself was not necessarily a "bad" thing.

France's new right-wing prime minister, Michel Barnier, this week vowed to be "ruthless" with people traffickers, who he said "exploit misery and despair" that pushed undocumented asylum seekers to risk trying to cross the Channel and the Mediterranean.

The Utopia 56 charity helping migrants said authorities must change tack.

"To put an end to these tragedies, the state's action must change, by carrying out a humanitarian rescue operation at sea, accompanied by a policy of reception in France and safe passage to England," the group said.

Eight migrants died in mid-September when their overcrowded vessel capsized while trying to cross the Channel.