UK-bound migrant dies in Channel as 69 are rescued from overcrowded sinking boat – whereas others make it throughout safely
A UK-bound migrant was found dead today following the rescue of 69 people from an overcrowded boat in the English Channel – while other migrants made it across safely.
Their inflatable dinghy was attempting to get to Britain when it began to sink off the French coast, at Calais, on Saturday morning.
The latest case means that five migrants have died while attempting to get to Britain from France on a small boat in 2025.
‘Multiple small boats organised by people smugglers’ were seen making the same journey today, a spokesman for the Pas de Calais Prefecture said.
The spokesman said a Mayday call was received at the Gris-Nez rescue centre in Audinghen, France just before dawn.
That triggered a rescue operation led by the French Navy on the ship known as the Abeille Normandie (Normandy Bee).
‘When they reached the stricken boat, they initially manged to rescue 70 people, only half of whom were wearing life jackets,’ said the spokesman.
‘A Naval helicopter winched up two victims, both of whom were unconscious. One was resuscitated, while the other was soon declared dead.’
Border Force escort 60 migrants into Dover Docks in Kent (note: these were not the migrants in the overcrowded boat that was sinking)
The migrants, wearing orange life jackets, disembark from the Border Patrol boat in Dover
The group of migrants included two very young children, who can be seen here being carried by Border Force staff in luminescent yellow jackets
There were no immediate details about the identities or nationalities of anybody involved.
Prosecutors in France have started a criminal enquiry, while judicial police are looking for the people smugglers who arranged the crossing.
The surviving migrants were taken to Calais, where they were treated for a number of conditions, including hypothermia.
The Pas-de-Calais prefecture meanwhile reported ‘numerous other’ attempts to get to Britain, on a morning of relatively calm weather for winter.
Two dead bodies were found on a beach in Berck, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, last Sunday.
At total of 78 migrants died in 2024 while trying to reach England in the same way.
This was a record since smugglers started launching small boats full of migrants in 2018.
New UK government data shows a record 1,489 migrants made the journey across the Channel from the start of January to February 6.
Migrants huddle together onboard the BF Typhoon, a vessel operated by Border Force, as they prepare to disembark
This is up from the 1,382 who successfully made the crossing from France during the same time window in 2024.
In January, a Syrian man became the first UK-bound migrant of 2025 to die in the Channel after being crushed to death in an overcrowded boat.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said of such tragedies: ‘Our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death.’
In April last year, a criminal enquiry was launched following the deaths of five migrants including a little girl around Wimereux, near Calais.
The worst tragedy of this kind came in November 2021, when 27 migrants died after a dinghy sank while heading to the UK – the highest recorded number of deaths from a single incident.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have pledged to ‘strengthen cooperation’ to fight the people smugglers, but they are regularly criticised for not doing enough.
