Father of girl who died in Channel says family feared being deported to Iraq

Ahmed Alhashimi’s seven-year-old daughter Sara was crushed to death after group of men rushed on to dinghy

The father of a seven-year-old girl crushed to death on a small boat has said they tried to cross the Channel after being informed his young family would be deported to Iraq after spending years in Europe.

Ahmed Alhashimi, 41, lost grasp of his daughter, Sara, on an inflatable dinghy after a large group of men rushed onboard as it was pulling away from the shores of Wimereux, south of Calais.