Two migrants attempting to reach the UK have died while competing for space aboard overcrowded dinghies crossing the English Channel.
French prosecutors said on Friday that criminal investigations had been opened after the deaths on beaches along the northern French coast.
Fighting erupted at Camiers, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, on Thursday morning after reports that a migrant boat was in difficulty, according to a spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture.
‘Around thirty individuals managed to board the boat, but an adult male was then found in the water, and in cardiorespiratory arrest,’ the spokesman said.
Emergency medical teams attempted to resuscitate the unidentified man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Several miles farther north, another body was discovered on the beach at Neufchâtel-Hardelot. The victim was described by the same spokesman as a person in their thirties, of African appearance.
Cécile Gressier, the prosecutor in Boulogne, confirmed that inquiries were in progress. People smugglers and other migrants could face manslaughter charges as investigators examine how the deaths occurred.
The two latest fatalities bring to at least 21 the number of people who have died in the English Channel this year while trying to reach Britain, including women and children.
The deaths came a day after disturbing footage emerged showing a man leaving a child behind before attempting to board a dinghy in France.
Migrants try to board a smuggler’s boat off the beach of Equihen-Plage, northern France, on September 23, 2026
The chaotic video, filmed from a French beach, shows the man holding a toddler as he struggles to get onto the small migrant boat.
Standing in chest-deep water amid strong waves, he releases the child, who floats face-up in the sea for several seconds.
Members of the French lifeboat organisation SNSM then swim towards the child and pull them from the water.
The youngster, who appears to be around three or four years old, is carried back to shore on a rescue board while the man continues trying to climb aboard the dinghy.
It remains unclear whether the man and the child are related. The child was wearing a black hooded anorak and an orange lifejacket.
The footage was recorded off Berck beach, roughly 30 miles south of Boulogne, on Monday afternoon.
Over the years, migrants attempting the Channel crossing have drowned or been crushed aboard vessels packed beyond capacity.
The deadliest incident occurred in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after their dinghy sank on the journey to the UK. It remains the highest recorded death toll from a single Channel crossing.
Several crossing attempts have been launched from northern France in recent days, with smugglers exploiting calm seas and favourable weather conditions.
UK Home Office figures show that 781 migrants reached Britain on Wednesday, the largest number recorded on a single day so far this year.
In total, 18,565 migrants have reached England via this route since January, a figure down by more than 40 per cent compared to the same period in 2025.
The surge in crossings also indicates that people-trafficking gangs are still getting hold of dinghies and outboard motors with ease, despite a crackdown on supply routes.
This week has also witnessed two ‘uncontrolled landings’ in which migrant boats reached the UK without being intercepted by the authorities.
In further chaotic scenes a dinghy launched from near Bayeux, in Normandy, made a record 38-hour voyage.
They launched just before 10am on Monday and, on Tuesday afternoon, were picked up by RNLI lifeboats and later transferred to a Border Force cutter.
The 51 migrants aboard were eventually brought ashore to Dover in the early hours of Wednesday.
