Four people have died after a small boat carrying migrants attempting to cross the Channel capsized off the coast of France, French local authorities have said.
Around thirty migrants are reportedly being cared for by emergency services in Équihen-Plage, with a two men and two women among those dead. Officials in Calais said that the dinghy was a “taxi-boat”, a type of small boat used along the northern French and Belgian coastlines to pick up migrants from just off shore.
Officials in Calais said in a statement issued to Reuters: “A taxi-boat sinking occurred today. The situation is still being assessed and remains subject to change.”
About 2,200 migrants crossed the Channel, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, to Britain in the first two months of 2026. Around 41,500 people made the crossing in 2025, according to the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory.
The deaths come as the UK and France continue negotiations over a renewed multimillion-pound deal to fund French police action against small boat migrants.
The French government has rejected a proposal from home secretary Shabana Mahmood to deploy British Border Force vessels to intercept small boats in French waters and return migrants to France.
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