Three dead after crowded Channel boat carrying 105 gets into difficulty

Three people, including a 10-year-old child, died after a crowded boat carrying 105 people got into difficulty in the English Channel, French authorities said. The other 102 passengers were rescued after the vessel called for help on Monday, September 28, following its departure from Blériot Plage near Calais. French officials said the people who died were the child and two women in their 30s. Medical personnel were sent to the rescue operation by helicopter, but the three could not be saved. The survivors were taken to the port of Calais. Two reports said nine of them received non-critical medical attention. The deaths were likely caused by crushing aboard the overcrowded boat rather than drowning, according to French maritime officials. That account remains preliminary: authorities have opened an investigation to determine the precise circumstances. The available reports did not provide findings from the investigation. French authorities said they responded after receiving a distress call from the boat. The incident occurred off northern France, near Calais.