Two migrants have died trying to cross the English Channel.
The “tragic incident” happened today and involved a small boat in French waters, a UK government spokesperson said.
About 50 migrants were reportedly rescued from the same small boat after the vessel sent a distress signal to the regional coastguard centre.
A helicopter and two boats were sent to rescue the migrants, and pulled “many” people out of the water with “fuel burn injuries”, according to French maritime regional authorities.
It is understood those who were rescued were returned to France.
The government spokesperson told Sky News: “We can confirm there has been a tragic incident in the Channel involving a small boat in French waters which has resulted in the loss of two lives.
“This latest tragedy underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings, and we continue to do everything we can to prevent callous criminals exploiting vulnerable people. Our thoughts are with those affected.”
France is understood to be leading an investigation into the deaths.
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Police officers in France look for migrant activity on Sunday
Family will attempt Channel crossing again despite daughter’s death
The mother of a 21-year-old woman who died in a separate crossing on 28 July has said her family will have to attempt the journey again as they have no other option.
Dina Al Shammari was crushed in an overcrowded boat while travelling with her three younger siblings and parents.
The family believed there would be 60 people on the boat, but on the day of the crossing they discovered the numbers were “double”, said Ms Al Shammari.
The mother-of-four said the boat was at sea for about an hour before the coastguard reached them.
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Coastguard boat in the Channel on 11 August
“When we noticed the French coastguard in the sea, we were trying to say ‘save us, save us’ because my daughter is choking,” Ms Al Shammari said.
“The people inside the boat, they threatened us ‘don’t stop the boat’ and they had a knife.”
The family, who are Kuwaiti Bidoon, a stateless Arab minority, fled the Gulf state in 2018 and tried to get asylum in Germany but were refused.
They then travelled to France to try and reach the UK.
Despite her daughter’s death, when asked if the family would try to enter the UK again, Ms Al Shammari said: “We have no options here, where should we go?
“Who’s going to give us the protection? We have to do that again.”
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Police officers in France search for migrant activity as number of small boats crossing the channel increases on last year
She described Dina as someone who liked cooking, travelling, nature and “everything beautiful in this life”.
She wanted to study to become a dentist when she reached the UK, learn more English and above all “feel safe”.
Read more:Banksy’s migrant boat artwork appears in Glastobury crowdSmall boat crossings in 2024 pass 15,000
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Increase in small boats crossing the channel
Last month, a person was found dead near Calais after a small boat attempted to cross the Channel from France to the UK, according to French authorities.
Two people were also reported to have died in separate crossings in July.
One was in a boat with another 85 people who “refused to be helped” when patrol boat PSP Cormoran spotted the vessel before disaster struck, French authorities said at the time.
The other migrant died when the boat they were on, which was carrying another 71 people, deflated in the Channel.
According to The Migration Observatory, 12,646 small boat arrivals were detected in the first half of 2024 – up 16% on the first half of 2023.
