A migrant has died after a small boat heading for the UK ‘collapsed’ overnight, French authorities have said.
The disaster unfolded at around 3am on Monday following a Mayday call to the Gris-Nez rescue centre on France’s northern coast.
The Abeille Normandie tug scrambled to the scene, along with a lifeboat from Dungeness, Kent, and the UK Border Force Ranger vessel.
A person was spotted unconscious in the water by a French Navy helicopter. The individual was rescued by RNLI crews and transferred onto a French tug, where they were unfortunately declared dead by the medics on board.
‘Initially, the Abeille Normandie was monitoring the stricken boat,’ said a spokesman for France’s Channel Prefecture.
‘During the monitoring, the overloaded boat broke up,’ causing dozens of people including women and children to fall into the water.
Aircrafts from France and Britain both assisted in the operation and rescued around 61 people from the boat designed to carry just 18.
The spokesman added: ‘During its search of the area, a helicopter located an unresponsive person in the water.’
A migrant has died after a small boat ‘collapsed’ while trying to cross the Channel overnight (Stock Image)
The Abeille Normandie tug, a lifeboat from Dungeness, Kent, and the UK Border Force Ranger vessel (pictured in 2023) all responded to the scene swiftly.
A French Navy helicopter assisting the crews spotted an unconscious person in the water (Stock Image of French Navy helicopter)
Among those rescued were a mother and child who were evacuated by helicopter to Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital, suffering from hypothermia.
Four men suffering from the same condition after being taken out of the extremely cold sea were also treated.
Others were taken to the dock at Boulogne and looked after by emergency workers.
No identities were immediately released for any of those involved, nor their ages and countries of origin.
Some 10 people have now died trying to reach Britain on small boats this year alone.
There is now an investigation underway by prosecutors in France regarding this recent tragic incident. Additionally, judicial police are actively searching for the individuals responsible for organizing the smuggling operation.
The disaster unfolded around 3am on Monday following a Mayday call to the Gris-Nez rescue centre on France ’s northern coast (Stock Image)
Prosecutors in France have started an enquiry into the latest fatality, while judicial police are looking for the people smugglers who arranged the crossing (Stock Image)
A total of 78 migrants died in 2024 while trying to reach England in the same way.Â
This was a record since smugglers started launching small boats full of migrants in 2018.
In January, a Syrian man became the first UK-bound migrant of 2025 to die in the Channel after being crushed to death in an overcrowded boat.
In April 2024, a criminal enquiry was launched following the deaths of five migrants including a little girl around Wimereux, near Calais.
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.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the total number of small boat migrants to have reached British soil since the start of this year was 11,074.
It is the earliest stage in any calendar year since the start of the Channel crisis in 2018 that the 11,000 milestone has been reached.
In 2022 – which went on to see the record annual total so far – the 11,000 point was hit on June 16.
The following year it was June 24 and last year saw the landmark passed on June 6.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week pledged to crack down on smuggling gangs that bring people into the UK in small boats, including by targeting criminal networks overseas.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week pledged to crack down on smuggling gangs that bring people into the UK in small boats, including by targeting criminal networks overseas
But Sir Keir has already faced an embarrassing defeat after Albania became the first country to rule itself out of the Government’s scheme (Pictured with Albanian PM Edi Rama)
Sir Keir said the Government would start talks with other countries on ‘return hubs’ for failed asylum seekers.
He said these hubs, which would see failed asylum seekers sent for processing in third countries prior to deportation, would not be a ‘silver bullet’ for halting the crossings, but the proposal is expected to act as a deterrent.
However Starmer has already faced an embarrassing defeat after Albania became the first country to rule itself out of the Government’s scheme.
In a surprise move, the Prime Minister used a visit to Tirana yesterday to unveil plans to create Rwanda-style centres abroad to house failed asylum seekers from the UK.
But the initiative imploded on live TV just an hour later when his host, Albanian premier Edi Rama, announced his country would not be taking part in the scheme.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.Â
