Record number of children died crossing Channel last year, says UN

An RNLI lifeboat making its way towards a group of migrants in an inflatable boat in the Channel heading for Dover. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

A record number of children died in the Channel last year according to UN data shared with the Guardian that officials have said should serve as a “wake-up call”.

Last year, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) Missing Migrants Project recorded the highest number of deaths and missing persons in the Channel, with 82 people losing their lives, at least 14 of whom were children – also a record high.