Two children are among three people who have died after an attempted small boat crossing in the English Channel, according to French media reports.
Regional prosecutor Laurent Touvet announced at a news conference on Wednesday that the deadly incident had unfolded off the coast of Sangatte, in Pas-de-Calais, late on Tuesday night into the early hours of this morning.
He said the three who died were “likely crushed at the bottom of the boat” that had been carrying 38 people across the English Channel.
The boat was brought to shore by rescue services at around 5am local time.
Another three people have been declared missing after a second boat attempted a crossing from Neufchâtel-Hardelot, around an hour’s drive down the coast from Sangatte.
A third boat with 115 people on board was also rescued in the Calais region after getting into difficulty. No injuries were reported in that instance.
The Calais prosecutor’s office blamed the deaths on the smuggling gangs responsible for organising the deadly crossings.
“Smuggler networks bear the responsibility for these tragedies. The state is determined to combat them,” the prosecutor’s office said in a post on X (Twitter).
Another person was pronounced dead on Tuesday after attempting to cross the Channel in a small boat.
A Kent Police spokesperson said the woman was airlifted back to shore around 1pm, where she was pronounced dead.
There is no official record of the number of deaths of people trying to cross the Channel.
But at least 23 people have died attempting to cross the English Channel this year, according to an Agence France-Presse account based on official data.
Last year 50 people died while trying to cross the Channel, according to incidents recorded by the French coastguard, in what is considered the deadliest year since the crisis unfolded.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has also reported several more migrant deaths believed to be linked to crossing attempts in 2024.
