Authorities say dozens rescued after boat carrying asylum seekers to the UK sank in the English Channel early Saturday.
Six people have died after a boat carrying asylum seekers heading to the United Kingdom sank in the English Channel, French maritime officials said, as a search continued to find those still missing.
A spokesperson from the French coastal authority Premar said on Saturday that between five and 10 passengers were still missing, while 55 had been rescued.
Four French ships and a helicopter plus two British vessels were involved in a rescue effort off Sangatte in northern France, authorities said, adding that some survivors were rescued by the British vessels.
Local Mayor Franck Dhersin said a vast rescue operation was launched at about 6am (04:00 GMT) as dozens of asylum seeker boats tried to make the crossing at the same time.
“Several of the boats were facing serious difficulties,” he told the Reuters news agency. “Near [the coastal town of] Sangatte they unfortunately found dead bodies.”
The maritime prefecture confirmed there had been at least six deaths and said search and rescue operations were ongoing.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Junior Maritime Affairs Minister Herve Berville would head to Calais, near where one of the boats capsized.
“This morning, a migrant boat capsized off Calais,” French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on social media. “My thoughts are with the victims.”
The UK’s coastguard said it had sent a lifeboat from Dover to assist with the rescue, along with a coastguard rescue team and ambulance staff.
More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel on small boats from France to southeast England since the UK began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018, official figures revealed on Friday.
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