Two women die trying to cross the English Channel as migrants rescued off Pas-de-Calais

PARIS — Two women died Saturday morning while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom on a makeshift boat carrying other migrants, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said in a statement. Rescuers found the women in cardiac arrest but could not revive them, the prefecture said. A couple and their child with hypothermia were transported to a hospital in Boulogne, the prefecture added. The incident occurred off the coast of Neufchatel-Hardelot.

Local media reported that more than 60 migrants were rescued overnight. The prefecture said police had prevented several attempts at crossing.

The prefecture also noted that 17 migrants have died since the start of the year while attempting to reach the U.K. on small boats from the Pas-de-Calais coast.

Earlier this week, a family of three, including a small child, became the first people sent to the U.K. under an agreement in which Britain returns migrants who enter the country without authorization and France sends vetted asylum-seekers. The U.K. Home Office said the family’s arrival was part of “critical first steps” in the program dubbed “one in, one out.” Four people who arrived in Britain by boat from France were flown back to France in recent days as part of the arrangement.