One person has died after a boat carrying migrants sank while attempting to cross the English Channel near Boulogne-sur-Mer, according to French officials.
The Maritime Prefect of the Channel and the North Sea said 61 survivors had been rescued overnight after their “overloaded boat” broke up.
The French assistance and rescue intervention tug (RIAS) Abeille Normandie deployed three speedboats to recover 50 people.
An RNLI lifeboat from Dungeness rescued two people and another nine were rescued by the British vessel Border Force Ranger – they were all transferred to the Abeille.
In addition, an unconscious person was spotted in the water by the French Navy’s Dauphin helicopter and recovered by the RNLI lifeboat.
They were transferred to the French tug but declared dead by the medical team on board.
Among the survivors was a child and his mother suffering hypothermia, who were airlifted to hospital by helicopter, while the others were taken to the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
There has been no update about their condition.
Recent figures show the number of people crossing the Channel has continued to rise, passing the 12,000 mark last week.
Sir Keir Starmer has committed his government to “Smash The Gangs”, referring to a campaign of targeting people smugglers and small boat crossings, which remain at a record high this year.
The most recent figures on crossings show that 1,125 people were recorded arriving in the UK by small boat in the last seven days until 17 May.
