AT least three people have died and three more are missing after two separate attempts to cross the English Channel from France.
The deaths came while the groups of migrants were trying to cross into Britain last night, officials in Pas-de-Calais, northern France, said today.
During a press briefing in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Prefect Laurent Touvet confirmed that at least two children were among the three dead, following the tragedy off the coast of Sangatte, near Calais, local French media reported.
He added that the three other migrants disappeared at sea during another attempted crossing at Neufchâtel-Hardelot.
This comes just one day after a woman died following a small boat rescue operation in the Channel.
Explaining the tragedy overnight, Touvet said the three victims who died had been on a vessel carrying 38 people total.
The survivors of the accident were then rescued by a tug at around 5am, BFMTV reported.
On top of this, the second boat, carrying 115 people onboard, was “shipwrecked”, it is understood.
Migrants from this vessel were then taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer by a French Navy patrol boat, with no injuries being reported excluding the three missing people, Touvet said.
Last year, a total of 77 people lost their lives while attempting the crossing, according to French authorities.
Thousands of migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats since the new “one in, one out” agreement with France took effect in August, figures from the Home Office show.
The plan proposes that for each migrant the UK returns to France, another person with a strong case for asylum in Britain will be allowed to stay.
More than 30,000 people have reached the UK in small boats so far in 2025 and more than 50,000 have crossed since Labour came into power in July last year.
AFPAt least three migrants have died while trying to cross the English Channel last night, officials in France have said (file photo)[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
