Migrants board a smuggler's inflatable dinghy in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on Bleriot beach in Sangatte, near Calais, northern France on October 30, 2024. A migrant died on October 30, 2024, attempting to cross the English Channel bringing to 57 the number of deaths this year linked to crossings in overcrowded dinghies. With British and French authorities seeking to crack down on people smuggling gangs, activists say traffickers are now herding larger groups of migrants into increasingly overcrowded and unsafe boats trying to take advantage of favourable weather conditions just a few weeks before winter. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP) (Photo by SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images) FRANCE-BRITAIN-EU-MIGRANTS
Rescuers assisted 45 individuals, including four who were transported to hospitals.
This year has been one of the deadliest for migrants attempting the perilous journey between France and England, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, with at least 76 deaths reported by officials.
Around 50 people were stranded in the water and on the beach near Sangatte at around 6 a.m., according to the regional prefecture.
An investigation has been opened by prosecutors in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
In November, a French court convicted 18 people in a migrant-smuggling trial that shed light on the lucrative but often deadly clandestine business of transporting people across the English Channel.
“These are low-quality boats put into the water solely for profit by these criminal networks, which have no regard for the lives of these children, women and men,” he said.
Jacques Billant, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said an overcrowded boat may have contributed to the tragedy.
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