Family's grief after Afghan boy, 15, killed in Calais

The family of a 15-year-old boy who died when he fell from the top of a lorry in Calais last Friday as he tried to reach the UK have spoken of their loss.

Raheemullah Oryakhel is youngest known victim of the struggle to get into Britain.

More than 1,000 euros has been raised to repatriate his body.

Speaking to ITV News, relative Abdul Walli, from Birmingham, said: "Everybody's sad. He's too young.

"There's a lot of children dying for no reason. For others it's no problem, they can run and jump, they can do anything. But the children can't."

Raheemullah's death comes as Britain's anti-slavery commissioner warned children in the Calais 'jungle' are risking their lives every night as they attempt to reach the UK.

Minors are turning to smuggling gangs amid frustration at official routes for claiming asylum or joining relatives who are already in this country, Kevin Hyland suggested.

  • 'Dublin III procedures'

He said he is convinced that frustration with, and lack of confidence in, regulations known as the Dublin III procedures "is one of the key motivators behind risk taking behaviour, which leads to higher exposure to modern slavery and exploitation".

Under Dublin III, asylum claims must be made in the first safe country a person reaches - but children can have their claim transferred to another country if they have family members living there.

Living conditions in the jungle are dire.
Statistics indicate that in August there were 865 children living in the Calais jungle.

For Raheemullah, that right to claim asylum in the UK was not enough.

Retired GP Dr Nick Maurice helps treat those who injured in their attempts to flee the Calais jungle, where he says there are now more than 800 unaccompanied children.

He told ITV News: "It is a complete disgrace. Here we are...only 100 miles from London, only 30 miles from Dover and we have this large population of unaccompanied children. What is happening in this world?"

Dr Maurice, who works with the charity Care 4 Calais, sees the impact the journey to Britain has on the health of migrants on a daily basis.

"Today I saw a man coming in with serious problems to with his knees because he had climbed over the Alps in his attempt to get to Calais," he added.

"He had arrived from Sudan, he had crossed the Mediterranean, arrived in Italy and had walked over the Alps.

"But also we're seeing quite a lot of minor injuries sustained from falling off trucks in their attempts to get to the UK. If you talk to these people they will say 'I've tried nine times this week to get to the UK'."

The French government is planning to demolish the camp.
A British-funded wall is being built near the Calais jungle.

The French government is planning to demolish the camp soon and a British-funded wall is being built to further protect the road into the port.

A Home Office spokeswoman said:

The Home Office says it is working to ensure that children in Calais with family in the UK are identified.