Kids drown as refugees sail across English Channel

Four people, including two young children, died on Tuesday when a boat carrying about 19 people capsized off France while trying to cross the English Channel to Britain, French authorities said.

The dead were a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old, an adult woman and an adult man. Fifteen people were rescued.

Emergency services called off their search on Tuesday night because of darkness and bad weather.

They did not resume on Wednesday morning because there was no chance of finding anyone still alive, although they did not explain why there was little chance of survivors.

Such crossings have become increasingly common in recent years, despite political uproar in Britain and stepped-up police efforts to stop them. But deaths in the Channel are rare.

People have long used northern France as a launching point to reach Britain — usually in trucks or on ferries — and the issue has long strained relations between the two countries.

Many appear to have turned to small boats organized by smugglers during the coronavirus pandemic because virus restrictions have reduced traffic between France and Britain.