ÉQUIHEN-PLAGE, France: Four people died on Thursday off the coast of northern France as they tried to cross the Channel to England, taking the number of small boat deaths this year to six.
The two men and two women were swept away by the current as they tried to board a boat with dozens of other people near the village of Equihen-Plage, said regional official Francois-Xavier Lauch.
One person was treated for hypothermia, he said. Authorities said later that two children were taken to hospital. Lauch said the nationalities of the four dead were not yet known.
France is the main point of departure for migrants hoping to reach Britain, usually risking the journey in flimsy, overcrowded boats.
A large number of emergency service vehicles and rescuers gathered on the beach after the latest deaths.
People stood by a first aid post, many wrapped in thermal blankets and a few wearing life jackets, with one woman carrying a baby.
‘Taxi boats’
The migrants were trying to board a so-called “taxi boat,” officials said — dinghies move out to pick up dozens of migrants who wade into shallow waters.
This method is used to try and avoid security forces on the coast from stopping the boats from launching.
Prosecutor Cecile Gressier said the victims were all adults. The boat had “continued on its way” carrying about 30 other people after the failed attempt by the other migrants to board it, she added.
The latest deaths show that smugglers continue to “enrich themselves” by “exploiting the misery and distress” of migrants trying to reach Britain, she said.
The mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart said in a statement that a group of mayors along the northern coast had been seeking more resources for months.
She said approaches to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had brought no response.
“We demand a clear strategy,” she said.
A UK government spokesperson said they would “continue working relentlessly with the French” to prevent these “perilous journeys.”
“Every death in the Channel is a tragedy and a stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit,” the spokesperson added.
Political row
Two men, one Sudanese and the other Afghan, died last week trying to make a similar crossing — the first reported deaths in the Channel this year.
Last year, at least 29 people died, according to an AFP tally based on official French and British sources.
The handling of undocumented migrants has been a political point of contention between Paris and London. The UK government is under pressure from the anti-immigration hard right to curb arrivals.
France changed its approach at the end of last year to allow the interception of taxi boats at sea, although only under certain conditions.
Lauch said police had not intervened to stop the boat on Thursday.
Angele Vettorello, coordinator of the migrant aid group Utopia 56, said France was not deploying adequate resources for rescue efforts.
“When we see that most deaths at the border occur within this 300-meter zone at sea, we have to question the rescue operation. Is it sufficient? Are there enough boats capable of operating in shallow waters?
“At the moment, it doesn’t seem like it,” she told AFP.
Nearly 50,000 people on 795 boats attempted to make the crossing last year, according to French official figures.
British authorities recorded 41,472 small-boat arrivals in 2025, the second-highest total after a record 45,774 in 2022.
