Published on •Updated
Four migrants died in two separate attempts to cross the Channel from France to Britain, French authorities said on Thursday.
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Three bodies were found on a small boat that approached the coast to pick up passengers near the port of Dunkirk early Thursday, the maritime prefecture said
Another boat sank late Wednesday off the seaside town of Hardelot, leading to the death of one man, authorities in the Pas-de-Calais region said. Rescue services took six people, including a one-year-old, into their care.
Migrants are drawn into frequent deadly tragedies as they seek to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes on flimsy dinghies, hoping to reach Britain.
A woman died after reaching English waters last month following an illegal crossing from France, according to British and French authorities.
The vessel she was travelling in did not seek assistance during the crossing, but British authorities intercepted it and found an unconscious passenger, they said.
At least 29 dead in Channel last year
In 2025, 6,177 migrants were saved on the French side of the Channel by French authorities. At least 29 migrants died at sea in 2025 according to official French and British sources.
“The risks to which people smugglers expose migrants are becoming ever greater,” say French authorities. The number of people by small boat is rising year after year: 26 per boat in 2021, 45 in 2023, 65 in 2025. That year, ten crafts transported more than 100 migrants.
In April, the British government signed a three-year agreement with the French authorities, providing for the payment of £662M (€771M) to fund patrols on the beaches from which these makeshift boats set sail.
On the British side, 41,472 migrants arrived on the coast in small boats in 2025, according to the British government, the second-highest total after the record of 45,774 recorded in 2022.