Two migrants, including a 16-year-old girl, have been found dead after aUK-bound small boatcaught fire during a crossing attempt in theEnglish Channel.
Emergency servicesmade the discovery in the early hours of Sunday on a beach near Neufchâtel-Hardelot, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The victims, aged 16 and 29, were found inside an overcrowded inflatable vessel that had run aground.
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Authorities said the boat had been carrying around 82 people when its engine caught fire and exploded at around 3am, triggering panic on board.
Christophe Marx, of the Pas de Calais prefecture, said: “They were in a small boat carrying approximately eighty-two people. The boat ran aground on the beach, and the victims were found dead inside the boat.”
Survivors described how the blaze forced passengers to scramble for safety. One Iranian survivor said: “There was a problem with the engine, which caught fire. This forced everybody backwards, into a huddle.”
Local mayor Paulette Juilien Peuvion confirmed the ages of the victims and said others had been seriously injured. She said: “One of the victims was only sixteen year old, the second was not yet thirty.
"A man on the boat had suffered severe burns and was transported to the hospital in an emergency vehicle, while five others were also in a critical condition.”
Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation and there has been no immediate identification of those involved.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
