LILLE, France, May  21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - An eight-year-old boy and a woman,

who are both believed to be Turkish nationals, have died off France's northern
coast while attempting to cross the Channel into Britain, French authorities
said on Wednesday.

       The latest tragedy, which took place overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, brings
to five the number of would-be asylum seekers who have died over the last 10
days trying to reach Britain, according to an AFP tally based on official
figures.

       The woman and child were found dead in an overloaded boat carrying some 80
migrants who requested help from a French navy vessel, said France's Maritime
Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.

       The small boats used by smugglers to take would-be refugees across the
Channel are often so overloaded that passengers die of suffocation or are
crushed to death.

       The boat set off from the northern town of Gravelines, and a French navy
vessel was immediately deployed to monitor it.

       French authorities do not intervene once boats are afloat except for rescue
purposes, citing safety concerns.

       The French military intervened when authorities were informed that two
passengers on board -- a woman and a child -- were unconscious.

       They were pronounced dead by a medical team and taken to the port city of
Calais, along with 10 other passengers who had requested assistance, the
maritime prefecture said. The boat continued its journey towards the UK.

       The victims are believed to be an eight-year-old boy and a 40-year-old
woman, both of Turkish nationals, according to rescue services.

       Most of the migrants who requested assistance were Turkish nationals but
also included Iranians, Iraqis and Sudanese.

       Utopia 56, a migrant aid association, said that people-smugglers have
recently launched multiple small boats due to favourable weather.

       Celestin Pichaud, a coordinator with Utopia 56, said that they had received
nine messages from migrants in distress between 11:30 pm (2130 GMT) on Tuesday
and midday on Wednesday.

       Among them was a voice message in halting English saying that "at least two
people had died", Pichaud added, deploring "a policy of non-reception that puts
people in danger".

       British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this month announced tougher new
policies to tackle high levels of regular and irregular migration, in an
attempt to stem a growing loss of support to the hard right.

       According to French authorities, at least 15 migrants have died since the
beginning of 2025 while trying to reach England.

       A total of 78 migrants died in 2024 while trying to cross the Channel
aboard small boats, a record since the rise of crossings in this area in 2018.