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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Channel crossings: Body of teenage migrant found on French beach | Channel crossings: Body of teenage migrant found on French beach |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A 16-year-old from Sudan who disappeared at sea has been found dead on a French beach. | |
| French politicians believe the boy, whose body was found in Calais, went missing while attempting to cross the English Channel in a small boat. | |
| UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said the death of the young migrant was a "brutal reminder" that people smugglers exploit the vulnerable. | UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said the death of the young migrant was a "brutal reminder" that people smugglers exploit the vulnerable. |
| The Home Office would not confirm whether he was trying to reach the UK. | |
| More than 4,800 people have crossed the Channel in about 360 small boats this year. | More than 4,800 people have crossed the Channel in about 360 small boats this year. |
| Labour MP Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said the government's response to the rise in crossings had been "lacking in compassion and competence". | |
| He urged ministers to "step up work with international partners to find a humanitarian solution to this crisis, which is costing lives". | |
| 'Don't deserve to die' | |
| Clare Moseley, of refugee charity Care4Calais, said she was "absolutely devastated by the unnecessary death of this child". | Clare Moseley, of refugee charity Care4Calais, said she was "absolutely devastated by the unnecessary death of this child". |
| "We can only imagine the fear he felt and our hearts go out to his family," she said. | "We can only imagine the fear he felt and our hearts go out to his family," she said. |
| Ms Moseley said the boys the charity supports in Calais were "fun to be with despite the horrors they have been through". | |
| "Some are cheeky, some are smart, some like football, some like books. None deserve to be here and none deserve to die alone in the sea." | |
| French minister Marlene Schiappa said the boy's body was found on a beach in Sangatte, Calais, on Wednesday. | |
| Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont said he believed the boy had gone missing while trying to cross the Channel in a small boat on Tuesday evening. | |
| "It seems pretty sure he drowned in the Channel and his body was found lying on the French seaside near Calais," he said. | |
| 'Asylum solution' | |
| Earlier this month, Dan O'Mahoney was appointed as the UK's Clandestine Channel Threat Commander in a bid to make the Channel route "unviable" for small boat crossings. | |
| But Mr Dumont said that "whatever the British government implement in the Channel, people will try to cross". | |
| "The more difficult it will be to cross, the more dangerous it will be," he added. | |
| He said the "only solution" was to allow migrants living in Europe to claim asylum in the UK, without having to land in Britain. |