The fatal accident was the third fatal attempt to cross the English Channel this year.
A 7-year-old girl drowned after a small boat carrying 16 people heading to Britain capsized in northern France, French authorities said.
The boat capsized on Sunday in the Canal du Haa, several kilometers from the opening of the waterway into the English Channel, after carrying passengers, France's Nord Prefecture said.
Firefighters and police officers rushed to the scene after witnesses raised the alarm.
Local authorities said in a statement that the vehicle was “not of appropriate size to carry so many people.”
The newspaper said the girl's parents were on board the “apparently stolen” boat, who were traveling with three other children. Another couple, two men and six young children were also on the boat, and all were taken to hospital in Dunkirk.
This is the third fatal accident this year. In January, five people, including a 14-year-old Syrian boy, died trying to board a boat in sub-zero temperatures south of the port city of Calais.
Last week, a 22-year-old Turkish man died after falling into the sea off the coast of Calais, and two more people are missing. An Eritrean national believed to be a member of the gang was charged with manslaughter in the case and has been in custody since Saturday.
Increased Channel crossings proved to be a thorny issue between France and Britain. The number of boat arrivals in the UK has soared from 299 in 2018 to 45,755 in 2022, according to UKICE think tank.
At least 671 people have crossed so far this year. A total of 12 people died trying to cross the Channel last year, with around 29,437 people reaching the UK, Home Office figures show. Most of the arrivals were from Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Eritrea and Iraq.
In March 2023, France and the UK signed a deal in which the UK would provide 541 million euros ($585 million) in funding for hundreds of French police to deter migrants from making dangerous crossings.
British Home Secretary James Cleverley told reporters last month that the cooperation had been successful and the two countries would “expand” their cooperation. In 2023, there was a 36% reduction in railroad crossings.
European Union countries arrested 19 German-based human smugglers operating a highly sophisticated network in a major operation in February. The group charged between 1,000 and 3,000 euros ($1,080-$3,242) per passenger in the rubber dinghy. Authorities announced that 19 people were arrested.