Two Die as Channel Crossing Attempt Turns Deadly Off Northern France; About 60 Rescued After Makeshift Boat Departure

Two people died overnight while attempting to cross the English Channel from the coast of northern France by a makeshift boat, French officials told AFP on Saturday morning. About 100 people set off, and 60 were rescued and are currently being cared for by civil protection, according to French official Isabelle Fradin-Thirode. A couple and their child, suffering from moderate hypothermia, were rushed to a hospital in Boulogne.

The incident occurred south of the beaches of Neufchâtel-Hardelot in the Pas-de-Calais region, the officials said. The crossing is part of a pattern of dangerous attempts by migrants using small boats to reach the United Kingdom.

In total, at least 25 people have died this year trying to make the crossing in small boats. Earlier this month, three people died off the coast of Calais in what authorities described as a likely crush on the bottom of a packed boat. Last year, 50 people died while attempting the Channel crossing, according to the French coastguard.

So far in 2025, more than 30,000 people have reached the UK in small boats, with more than 50,000 crossing since Labour came to power in July 2024. The crossing has put pressure on the UK government, which has faced criticism over asylum-seeker applications and overall border control.

France and the United Kingdom recently agreed on a one-in, one-out returns deal designed to deter crossings. Under the agreement, for each migrant the UK returns to France, another migrant with a strong asylum case who had not attempted a Channel crossing would move in the opposite direction.

Politicians on both sides of the Channel have weighed in. Sir Keir Starmer has described the crossings as “totally unacceptable,” while Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said the smugglers behind the attempts are “wreaking havoc on our borders.”