TWO small boat migrants including a 16-year-old girl have been found dead on a beach after the vessel’s engine exploded while trying to cross the Channel.
Emergency service workers made the horrifying discovery in the early hours of Sunday close to Neufchatel-Hardelot, France.
Two female migrants were found dead on a small boat in the English Channel (stock) Credit: Getty
The two victims, aged 29 and 16, may have been crushed to death while on the overcrowded dinghy, reports say.
At least one man suffered severe burns while five others are said to be in critical condition.
The inflatable boat’s engine is understood to have exploded at around 3am, forcing passengers to huddle together as they avoided raging flames.
There were at least 82 people on board the boat, local authorities said.
They added that the boat ran aground on a beach south of Boulogne-sur-Mer following the blast.
An Iranian survivor said: “There was a problem with the engine, which caught fire.
“This forced everybody backwards, into a huddle.”
Mayor of Neufchatel-Hardelot Paulette Juilien-Peuvion said: “One of the victims was only sixteen-year-old, the second was not yet thirty.
“A man on the boat had suffered severe burns, and was transported to hospital in an emergency vehicle, while five others were also in a critical condition.”
Local prosecutors have opened an investigation into the horror ordeal.
Hours later, a second small boat was rescued by the Minck, a vessel chartered by the French Navy.
A total of 17 people on board were all taken to safety.
It comes as Britain is on track to hand France more than £1billion to stop small-boats migrants – despite years of failure.
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