Several dead in Channel crossing attempt, French minister says

PARIS (Reuters) - Several people, including a child, died trying to cross the Channel from France to England, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Saturday.

Attempts to cross the Channel in small, overloaded boats are frequent despite strong currents in what is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

"Smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will step up the fight against these mafias that organise these deadly crossings," Retailleau said on social media platform X.

A total of 14 people were on the boat. One was flown by helicopter to a hospital after a search and rescue operation was conduced Saturday morning, local maritime authorities said.

The incident was the latest in a series this year, including one last month in which 12 migrants died when their boat capsized in the Channel.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas and Kate Entringer; editing by Jason Neely)

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