'I could not protect her': Dad mourns child killed in Channel

Ahmed Alhashimi stood connected the beach, howling astatine the retreating waves, beating and clawing astatine his ain chest, and surrendering to the grief and rage and guilt that would not spell away.

"I could not support her. I volition ne'er forgive myself. But the oversea was the lone prime I had," helium sobbed.

A week earlier, earlier dawn, connected the aforesaid agelong of French coastline southbound of Calais, the 41-year-old had recovered himself wedged tightly wrong an inflatable boat, screaming for help, lashing retired astatine the bodies astir him, begging radical to move, to springiness him space, to fto him scope down and rescue his seven-year-old daughter, Sara, from the suffocating acheronian into which she'd been crushed.

"I conscionable wanted him to determination truthful I could propulsion my babe up," Ahmed explained, of the young Sudanese antheral who had been portion of a larger radical that had crowded connected committee astatine the past moment, arsenic the vessel had drifted distant from the shore. But the antheral had archetypal ignored him, past threatened him.

"That clip was similar decease itself. We saw radical dying. I saw however those men were behaving. They didn't attraction whom they were stepping connected - a child, oregon someone's head, young oregon old. People started to suffocate," said Ahmed, bitterly.

Although Ahmed is an Iraqi, his girl had ne'er adjacent visited the country. She was calved successful Belgium and had spent astir of her abbreviated beingness successful Sweden.

In all, 5 radical died successful the aforesaid incident, victims of what indispensable person felt similar an agonising, slow-motion stampede.

I'd been connected the formation astatine the clip with a BBC unit and had filmed the chaos arsenic the smugglers, escorting their passengers crossed the formation towards a tiny boat, had utilized fireworks and wielded sticks to ward disconnected a radical of French constabulary who'd attempted, and failed, to halt the radical from boarding.

As the vessel had drifted further retired to sea, we'd heard idiosyncratic shouting, faintly, from connected board. But successful the pre-dawn gloom it was intolerable to archer what was happening. As dawn broke, the constabulary were already moving distant from the enactment on with 1 suspected smuggler and immoderate of the migrants who had failed to clamber aboard.

Ahmed aboriginal confirmed that the antheral shouting for assistance was him, desperately imploring those astir him to prevention Sara's life. Ahmed's wife, Nour AlSaeed, and their 2 different children, 13-year-old Rahaf and eight-year-old Hussam, were besides trapped successful the boat, but inactive capable to breathe.

"I'm a operation worker. I'm strong. But I couldn't propulsion my limb out. No wonderment my small miss couldn't either. She was nether our feet," said Ahmed.

This had been the family's 4th effort astatine a crossing since they'd arrived successful the country 2 months earlier. Twice the constabulary had caught them connected the formation arsenic they'd struggled to support up with the different migrants sprinting towards a smuggler's boat. Ahmed said this clip the smugglers - who charged 1,500 euros (£1,280) per adult, and fractional that for each kid - had promised him that lone 40 people, mostly Iraqis, would get connected their boat, but that they'd been amazed erstwhile a abstracted radical of Sudanese migrants had appeared connected the formation and insisted connected piling aboard.

Sara had been calm astatine first, holding her father's manus arsenic they'd walked from the bid presumption successful Wimereux the evening before. They had past hidden successful the dunes northbound of municipality overnight. Sometime earlier 0600, the radical had inflated their vessel and past the smugglers had ordered them to transportation it down connected to the formation and tally with it towards the oversea earlier the constabulary intercepted them.

Suddenly, Ahmed said, a constabulary teardrop state canister had exploded adjacent them, and Sara had begun screaming. Once they'd clambered connected to the boat, Ahmed had kept Sara connected his shoulders for a infinitesimal oregon truthful but had past taken her down successful bid to assistance his different daughter, Rahaf, to get connected board, which is erstwhile helium mislaid show of Sara.

It was lone later, erstwhile French rescuers reached them retired astatine oversea and offloaded immoderate of the much than 100 radical crammed connected the boat, that Ahmed was yet capable to scope his daughter's body.

"I saw her caput successful the country of the boat. She was each blue. She was dormant erstwhile we pulled her out. She wasn't breathing," helium explained, betwixt sobs.

In the days since then, the household person been looked aft by the French authorities, portion they hold to hide Sara's body. Ahmed said helium was alert that he's faced beardown disapproval connected societal media from radical accusing him of putting his household astatine unnecessary risk. He appears torn betwixt accepting and rejecting specified blame.

"I volition ne'er forgive myself. But the oversea was the lone prime I had. Everything that happened was against my will. I ran retired of options. People blasted maine and say, 'How could I hazard my daughters?' But I've spent 14 years successful Europe and person been rejected," said Ahmed, detailing years of failed attempts to unafraid residency successful the EU aft he'd fled Iraq pursuing what helium described arsenic threats from militia groups there.

Belgium reportedly denied him asylum by arguing that Basra, his hometown successful Iraq, was classified arsenic a harmless area. He said his children spent the past 7 years staying with a comparative successful Sweden, but that helium was precocious informed that they would beryllium deported, with him, to Iraq.

"If I knew determination was a 1% accidental that I could support the kids successful Belgium oregon France oregon Sweden oregon Finland I would support them there. All I wanted was for my kids to spell to school. I didn't privation immoderate assistance. My woman and I tin work. I conscionable wanted to support them and their childhoods and their dignity," helium continued.

"If radical were successful my place, what would they do? Those who (criticise me) haven't suffered what I've suffered. This was my past option," helium said, appealing to the British authorities for sympathy and support.

Eva Jonsson, Sara's teacher successful Uddevalla, Sweden, described the seven-year-old arsenic "kind and nice", successful a video connection sent to the BBC.

"She had a batch of friends successful the school. They played unneurotic each the time… In February we heard she would beryllium deported and that it would hap quickly. We had 2 days' notice," she said.

After learning of her death, the people gathered successful a ellipse and held a minute's silence.

"It's precise unfortunate that it happens to specified a bully family. I person taught [other] children successful that family, and I was truly shocked astir the deportation," said the teacher.

"We person Sara's representation successful beforehand of america still, and we volition support it determination arsenic agelong arsenic the children want."