Migrants drown in English Channel hours after UK passes Rwanda policy

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends a press conference at Downing Street in London, Britain, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool/File Photo

WIMEREUX, France/DOVER, England (Reuters) -Five migrants, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France to Britain in an overcrowded small boat on Tuesday, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda in a move to deter the dangerous journeys.

The deaths occurred when a boat carrying 112 people set out to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and panic took hold among the passengers not far from the shore.