FRANCE: A 10-year-old child and two women in their 30s died on Monday, Sept. 28, after an overcrowded inflatable boat carrying 105 people ran into trouble while trying to cross the English Channel from France to Britain, French authorities said.
The boat had left Blériot Plage beach near Calais on Monday morning when French maritime police received a distress call. A rescue vessel and a French Navy helicopter were sent to the area after the boat encountered difficulties, even though the sea conditions were calm.
Three passengers were treated aboard the boat, but an emergency medical team later pronounced them dead. French authorities said the deaths appeared to have been caused by people being crushed because of the extreme overcrowding rather than by drowning.
About 100 survivors were taken to the port of Calais. Nine people received medical treatment for injuries or other health problems, but their conditions were not considered serious.
The deaths add to the dangers faced by people attempting the English Channel crossing in small. The narrow waterway is one of the world's busiest shipping routes, and migrants frequently rely on inflatable boats organized by smugglers to make the journey from northern France to Britain.
The incident came a day after another small boat carrying migrants reached a harbor in Cornwall, England. Ten people were arrested after they were seen leaving the boat at Mylor Harbour near Falmouth and getting into a van. Britain's Immigration Enforcement agency is investigating the incident.
Home Office figures show that 18,609 people had been detected arriving in Britain by small boats in 2026 as of Sept. 24. The figure is provisional and is about 42% lower than the 32,188 recorded during the same period in 2025.
Despite the lower year-to-date total, the crossings remain a major challenge for authorities on both sides of the Channel. The latest figures also show that 1,129 people arrived in Britain in small boats during the seven days from Sept. 20 to Sept. 26, according to Home Office operational data.
