Two people have died after an inflatable boat carrying migrants sank in the English Channel, French maritime authorities said.
The incident happened this morning off the coast of Sangat, near Calais.
About 50 migrants are believed to have fallen into the water just after 8am about 2km from the coastline near Calais.
At least 46 people were rescued, but French authorities are still searching for others still in the water.
UK Border Force also confirmed they were “actively involved in a search and rescue operation”.
Both victims were given first aid after being rescued from the water but were pronounced dead by medics when they were taken to Calais.
The rescue operation was launched after a life jacket was spotted in the water.
Overloading fragile boats used in crossing attempts sometimes causes them to collapse, tear apart and sink. The inflatable boats, which are made to carry no more than 20 people, often try to travel with three times that many on board, French maritime authorities said.
The public prosecutor’s office in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer has opened an investigation into the incident.
The rescue operation led to the temporary suspension of some commercial ferry services on the busy route between ports in northern France and the UK’s south coast. Services from Dover to Calais were affected with delays of up to 120 minutes due to the rescue operation.
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This year is the deadliest in the history of the English Channel crossing, with over 50 people known to have been killed so far. Many drowned, while others suffocated under the pressure of so many people crowded into small, narrow boats.
Last week, a baby girl died after she “slipped out” of her father’s hand when the boat they were in capsized.
Four migrants, including a two-year-old child, also died earlier this month in two separate incidents in similar attempts to cross. Last month, at least 20 migrants died in several shipwrecks in the English Channel.
Home Office figures show that more than 28,000 people reached the UK via Channel crossings in 2024.
Arrivals are 8% higher than the same time in 2023, at 26,116, and 25% lower than 2022, at 37,603.
Wanda Wyporska, chief executive of refugee charity Safe Passage International, said of the deaths on the canal this year: “We cannot normalize or accept this.
“This government must urgently open safe routes. Without them, smugglers will continue to take advantage of the lack of safe alternatives for people fleeing war and persecution.
“We fear that we will only see more people die trying to get protection here.”
