Tragedy in the English Channel: 13 migrants including three children die after overcrowded boat carrying 70 migrants ‘ripped open’ and capsized

At least 13 people, including three children, have died after a boat carrying up to 70 migrants ripped open in the English channel. 

A major rescue operation is underway to rescue people from the water after the inflatable vessel got into difficulty off the coast of France. 

The French coast guard initially confirmed 10 people were in critical condition following the sinking. Rescue workers were deployed close to Le Portel, a town of around 9,000, shortly after 11.30am. 

All of the people on board the dinghy ended up in the water. Two people are still missing and several people are injured. 

Olivier Barbarin, chief of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer where casualties are being treated, said: ‘Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open. It’s a big drama.’ 

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard the RNLI Lifeboat following a small boat incident in the Channel on Tuesday

TV channel France 3 claimed the mayor of Le Portel, Olivier Barbarin, said ‘around 10 people in cardio-respiratory arrest’.

Some of those rescued were taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer while others were lifted by helicopter to Le Portel. 

Emergency services have rushed to the scene to respond to the incident. 

A French emergency services spokesman said rescue services were working off the coast, around the former hoverport in Le Portel, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

‘The sinking of a boat overcrowded with around 70 migrants on board took place early on Tuesday,’ said the spokesman.

‘A Navy helicopter is bringing in victims who are in a critical condition. Some appear to have been suffocated. Around 10 people have been reported dead.’

Victims were also being taken back to Bassin Loubet in Boulogne-sur-Mer on board a semi-rigid boat, said the spokesman.

The mayor of Le Portel, Barbarin, has closed the beach at the former hoverport in Le Portel to allow helicopters to land.

The tragic incident comes after French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to work closer together to dismantle migrant smuggling routes last week

Frédéric Cuvillier, the mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, said: ‘A new tragedy linked to the migration situation has just taken place on our territory.’

‘A boat carrying nearly 70 people sank off our coast. The toll, unfortunately without being stabilized, is heavy with more than 10 victims and people in absolute emergency situations,’ he said in a social media post.

France’s outgoing interior minister Gérald Darmanin is expected to arrive at the scene later today. 

In a post on X, he said: ‘Terrible shipwreck in Pas-de-Calais, off Wimereux. The provisional toll stands at 12 dead, two missing and several injured. 

‘All government services are mobilised to find the missing and take care of the victims. I go to the elected officials and the emergency services.’

A UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said: ‘HM Coastguard received a report of a small boat in difficulty in the English Channel, in French waters north of Boulogne, at about 6.50am on 3 September.

‘The response was coordinated by French authorities. Assistance offered by HM Coastguard was not required.’

The last deaths reported in the Channel took place on August 11 – when two others perished making the treacherous journey.

On Tuesday, an RNLI lifeboat docked in Dover with people, thought to be migrants, on it docked in Dover after an incident in the Channel. 

Two male migrants dying when a small boat capsized in the same area on Sunday August 11th – a day when 703 migrants crossed the English Channel.

The tragedy meant nine people had died in similar circumstances over July and August alone

The figure for 2024 has now reached at least 35, and Boulogne prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the deaths.

Following the death by suffocation of a woman on board a migrant boat in July, an emergency services source said: ‘She was nowhere near the water, but succumbed to being crushed by the amount of people around her.

‘Migrants are drowning in the water, but the new phenomenon of people dying inside the boats is becoming very serious indeed.’

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to work closer together to dismantle migrant smuggling routes last week. 

The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats dangerous.

Earlier on Tuesday, Home Office figures confirmed that 351 migrants had successfully made the crossing into Britain yesterday aboard six dinghies.

These arrivals take the total number of arrivals in 2024 to 21,403 people in 409 boats.