At least 12 people have died and two are missing after a boat carrying up to 70 migrants broke open and capsized in the English Channel.
A major rescue operation is underway to rescue people from the water. after the inflatable boat ran into trouble off the coast of northern France.
The French coast guard initially Ten people were confirmed to be in critical condition following the sinking.
Rescue teams using helicopters and boats were deployed near Le Portel, a town of about 9,000 inhabitants, shortly after 11.30am.
Everyone on board the overcrowded boat ended up in the water. Outgoing French minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed the death toll had risen to at least 12 and several others were injured at 2.30pm.
Olivier Barbarin, head of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, where the victims are being treated, said: “Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat broke.”
Emergency services have been deployed to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, after a migrant boat capsized.
A group of people believed to be migrants are being taken to Dover, Kent, aboard an RNLI lifeboat following an incident with a small craft in the Channel on Tuesday.
Firefighters handle the bodies of migrants who died trying to cross the Channel to England in Boulogne-sur-Mer, northern France, on September 3.
The UK Coast Guard said it had not been involved in the rescue operation.
A spokesman said: ‘Her Majesty’s Coastguard received a report of a small craft in difficulty in the English Channel, in French waters north of Boulogne, at approximately 6.50am on 3 September.
“The response was coordinated by the French authorities. No assistance was required from Her Majesty’s Coast Guard.”
France 3 television reported that the mayor of Le Portel, Olivier Barbarin, said that “about ten people were in cardiac arrest.”
Some of those rescued were taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer, while others were transferred by helicopter to Le Portel.
Emergency services were called to the scene to respond to the incident.
A spokesman for French emergency services said rescue services were working on the coast around the former Le Portel airport south of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
“The sinking of a boat with around 70 migrants on board took place early on Tuesday,” the spokesman said.
‘A Navy helicopter is transporting victims in critical condition. Some appear to have died of suffocation. About ten people are reported dead.’
Victims were also being transferred to Bassin Loubet in Boulogne-sur-Mer aboard a semi-rigid boat, the spokesman said.
The mayor of Le Portel, Barbarin, has closed the beach at the former airport to allow helicopters to land.
Frédéric Cuvillier, Mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, said: “A new tragedy linked to the migration situation has just occurred on our territory.”
“A boat with almost 70 people on board sank off our coast. The toll, unfortunately not stabilised, is high with more than 10 victims and people in a situation of absolute emergency,” he said in a post on social media.
He also told BFM Grand Littoral that this tragedy is the most serious to have occurred in the Boulogne region.
The deaths of at least 12 migrants in the English Channel are “horrible” and “deeply tragic,” said British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
“What happened off the coast of Le Portel is a horrific and deeply tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the loved ones of all those who have lost their lives and all those who have been seriously injured,” he added.
‘I am in contact with my counterpart in France, Gérald Darmanin, and I am kept informed of the situation.
“We pay tribute to the French coastguard and emergency services who undoubtedly saved many lives, but unfortunately were not able to save everyone. We will await the results of the French investigation into how this particular incident unfolded.
‘The gangs behind this atrocious and cruel trafficking of human lives have been putting more and more people into increasingly unseaworthy boats and sending them into the Channel even in very adverse weather conditions.
“They care about nothing but the profits they make, and that is why – in addition to mourning the terrible loss of life – the work to dismantle these dangerous and criminal smuggling gangs and strengthen border security is so vital and must move forward apace.”
Outgoing French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin arrived at the scene at around 4:45 p.m. and is scheduled to speak with elected officials and emergency services before addressing the media about the incident.
In a message on X, he wrote: ‘Terrible shipwreck in Pas-de-Calais, off Wimereux. The provisional toll is 12 dead, two missing and several injured.
Firefighters and Civil Protection agents next to bags containing the bodies of migrants
The tragic incident comes after French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged last week to work more closely to dismantle migrant smuggling routes.
“All government services are mobilizing to find the missing and assist the victims. I am addressing elected officials and emergency services.”
Steve Smith, Chief Executive of Care4Calais, said: “We are all devastated by this latest tragedy, particularly our team in Calais. One life lost in the Channel is one too many, but this year such tragedies have occurred much more frequently and this is a deeply worrying trend that must be stopped.
‘Every political leader on both sides of the Channel should ask themselves how many lives will be lost before these preventable tragedies are brought to an end.
‘Their constant obsession and investment in security measures is not reducing border crossings, but is simply pushing people to take ever greater risks to do so.
“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is political folly. It’s time for politicians to be held accountable for their decision to dehumanise people seeking refuge from the horrors they suffer in their countries. It’s time for them to put an end to these tragedies and introduce safe routes.”
Reacting to the deaths in the Channel on Tuesday, Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: “The number of deaths in the Channel this year has been shockingly high.
‘This is a devastating trend that demonstrates the urgent need for a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to reducing dangerous Channel crossings.
‘Security measures alone are not the solution. Increased security and surveillance measures on French coasts have made crossings increasingly dangerous, from more dangerous locations and in flimsy and overcrowded boats.
‘In addition to cracking down on criminal gangs themselves, the government must develop a plan to improve and expand safe routes for those seeking safety.’
The last reported deaths on the Canal occurred on August 11, when two more people died during the perilous journey.
An RNLI lifeboat docked in Dover on Tuesday with people on board, believed to be migrants, following an incident in the Channel.
Two male migrants died when a small boat capsized in the same area on Sunday 11 August, a day when 703 migrants crossed the English Channel.
The tragedy meant that nine people died in similar circumstances in July and August alone.
The figure for 2024 is already at least 35 and Boulogne prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the deaths.
Following the suffocation death of a woman on board a migrant boat in July, an emergency services source said: “She was not near the water but succumbed after being crushed by the number of people surrounding her.
“Migrants are drowning in the water, but the new phenomenon of people dying on board boats is becoming really serious.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged last week to work more closely to dismantle migrant smuggling routes.
The Canal is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world and the currents are strong, making crossing it in small boats dangerous.
Earlier on Tuesday, Home Office figures confirmed that 351 migrants had successfully crossed into Britain on board six boats yesterday.
With these arrivals, the total number of arrivals in 2024 rises to 21,403 people on 409 vessels.