A 10-year-old boy and two women have died after apparently being crushed aboard an overcrowded small boat during an attempted Channel crossing.
The incident happened early today off Wissant, a few miles south of Calais, with dozens of other passengers reportedly suffering serious injuries.
Francois-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, told reporters on Monday that the victims did not appear to have drowned. Instead, they were “likely” crushed in the packed vessel — a tragedy he described as particularly devastating because one of those who died was a child.
An emergency worker at the scene said an investigation had already begun to establish exactly how the three people lost their lives.
Authorities had not immediately released the victims’ identities, although they were believed to be Eritrean asylum seekers.
Around 105 people were travelling on the vessel, which local officials described as a “water taxi”.
The boat was understood to have travelled in relatively empty from an inland waterway before collecting passengers from the beach at Wissant.
Emergency workers provided survival blankets to people rescued from the overcrowded boat
Police guard the port of Calais after three migrants, including a child, died while attempting to cross the Channel
Migrants board a bus at the rescue centre near the port of Calais
A spokesperson for the prefecture said the sea was calm and weather conditions were favourable at the time of the incident.
At around 10.30am local time, six rescue boats were still operating in the area, searching for survivors after the vessel overturned.
The prefect warned that autumn can create a particularly dangerous combination, with relatively mild weather but increasingly hazardous sea conditions.
He said crossings were especially perilous during this seasonal transition.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said the government was “deeply saddened” by news of the deaths in France.
The spokesperson described the tragedy as a grim reminder of the dangers created by criminal gangs that profit from exploiting vulnerable people.
They added that the Prime Minister remained committed to doing more to stop people from attempting such dangerous journeys.
The latest incident comes after three migrants died last week while rushing to secure places aboard another boat.
French prosecutors have launched criminal investigations into the recent tragedies, with judicial police leading the enquiries.
The deaths bring the number of people who have died in the Channel while trying to reach Britain this year to at least 24, including women and children.
Many have drowned, while others have been crushed to death in overcrowded boats.
The worst tragedy of this kind came in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.
Multiple attempts at crossings have taken place from the coast of northern France over the last few days, as the smugglers take advantage of calm seas and good weather.
According to figures from the Home Office, 781 migrants arrived in Britain last Wednesday – the highest single-day total recorded 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 with 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.
Rescuees queue to collect survival blankets after disembarking from an emergency response boat
A migrant sits inside a bus at the port of Calais, France
Rescuees walk after disembarking from an emergency response boat following their rescue
Migrants gather as they try to leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain, from the Petit-Fort-Philippe beach in Gravelines this morning
Some of the migrants reacted by throwing mud and sand as they were moved on by French police
In a separate incident, migrants clashed with French police as they attempt to cross The Channel from Gravelines this morning
Last week also saw 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.
