PARIS —Several people, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to England, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Saturday.

Attempts to cross the channel in small, overloaded boats are frequent despite strong currents in what is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

"Smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will step up the fight against these mafias that organize these deadly crossings," Retailleau said on social media platform X.

Fourteen people were on the boat. One was flown by helicopter to a hospital after a search and rescue operation was conducted Saturday morning, local maritime authorities said.

The incident was the latest in a series this year, including one last month in which 12 migrants died when their boat capsized in the channel.

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