At least three people killed and 50 rescued off coast of France attempting to cross Channel

29 December 2024, 08:39 | Updated: 29 December 2024, 13:26

At least three people have died off the coast of Calais attempting to cross to England.

The mayor of Sangatte, Guy Allemand, confirmed the deaths and said seven people required intensive care.

He said: "It never stops. It's crossing after crossing, without any let-up."

About 50 migrants have been taken into the care of the French humanitarian charity Utopia 56, according to local media, with some taken to Sangatte's nautical base for treatment.

Ten people with severe hypothermia were being cared for by firefighters, BFM TV reported.

A French Navy helicopter was part of a large-scale rescue operation deployed after the first alert was raised on Sunday morning at around 6.15am.

The bodies of two adults were recovered by emergency services about 45 minutes later, a police source told BFM TV.

The boat is understood to have got into trouble near the public beach Bleriot-Plage.

Several people fell into the water trying to board the overcrowded vessel, maritime services said.

Pas-de-Calais local official Jacques Billant told AFP: "The number of people who wanted to get on board the small boat was most probably too much compared to the boat's capacity.

"There was chaos and panic, as 58 people remained in the water and weren't able to get onboard. The boat then headed towards the UK."

He confirmed the three people who had died were all men, and that four people had been taken to hospitals in Calais and Boulogne, in a non-life-threatening condition.

Mr Billant went on to criticise the people smugglers who he said were risking the lives of adults and increasingly the lives of children and babies, selling dangerous crossings in overloaded and unsuitable boats, without life jackets for all passengers.

A UK government spokesperson said: "We can confirm there has been an incident in the Channel involving a small boat in French waters. French authorities are leading the response and investigation."

Border Security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: "This morning, lives have been lost at sea because ruthless criminals running the small boat trade are overloading people into unseaworthy vessels.

"We continue to support the French authorities who are leading on the response to the incident, which took place in French waters."

This year, 76 people have died attempting to cross the Channel in small boats.

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Favourable winds since last weekend have encouraged migrants to attempt the crossing, with around 1,500 migrants arriving in England between Wednesday and Saturday, according to British authorities.

French authorities said "several" small boats departed from the French coast early Sunday.

A total of 322 migrants arrived in the UK on six boats on Saturday, government data shows, while on Christmas Day 451 people crossed the English Channel in 11 small boats.

The figure was the second highest for December, with 609 people arriving on 12 December, a record for the month.

It takes the total number of arrivals by small boat in 2024 to 35,491, around 21% higher than last year, but about 22% down on 2022.

The vast majority of small boats crossing the Channel to the UK are launched from the north coast of France.

The government has said they want to end the crossings, saying they "threaten lives and undermine our border security".

The prime minister has set up a new Border Security Command, aiming to work more closely with the UK's European neighbours to pull apart organised crime gangs involved in people smuggling.