TWO female migrants died today as they tried to reach Britain from France on an overcrowded small boat.
The tragedy unfolded this morning off the coast near Neufchâtel-Hardelot, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, with investigators fearing the pair either suffocated, or drowned.
The UK Border Force escort migrants into Dover Docks, Kent[/caption]
Migrants were rescued in the middle of the channel trying to reach the UK[/caption]
Migrants on boats as they cross the English Channel today[/caption]
Local Mayor Paulette Juilien-Peuvion said : “Two women died, and some sixty others were rescued.
“What could have happened, I don’t know. I was called during the night to be told that a boat had left and that people were in the water.”
Cops at the scene said the women – both thought to be from Somalia – either suffocated on the packed boat before it disintegrated, or drowned in the sea.
One officer said: “An investigation has been launched – the remains of the boat are being examined.
“Neither of the deceased has yet been identified. Plenty of people ended up in the sea, but others were crushed before it went down.”
Boulogne prosecutors have opened a criminal enquiry as they try to find the people smugglers responsible for launching the boat.
A family of three was among the survivors taken to Boulogne Hospital for further examination, while others were treated for hypothermia.
Their boat is thought to have got into difficulty at around 5am, soon after launching.
The tragic deaths mean that at least 20 people have died this year as they attempt to reach Britain from France on a small boat.
Children were among three who died on the route earlier this month after they were crushed at the bottom of a boat.
At total of 78 migrants died in 2024 while trying to reach England in the same way.
This was a record since smugglers started launching small boats full of migrants in 2018.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has said of such tragedies: ‘Our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death.’
In April 2024, a criminal enquiry was launched following the deaths of five migrants including a little girl around Wimereux, near Calais.
The worst tragedy of this kind came in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have pledged to ‘strengthen cooperation’ to fight the people smugglers, but they are regulary criticised for not doing enough.
Both have hoped that their ‘one-in-one-out’ plan will in time provide a deterrent for would-be asylum seekers if they believe they risk being quickly sent back.
But more than 32,000 people have crossed so far this year, and the boats continue to launch.
