Another person is reportedly missing as a search operation is launched.
A search operation has been launched (Image: Getty)
Two migrants have reportedly died, and another person is missing after setting out to cross the English Channel from a French beach. A helicopter was reportedly seen searching the area and maritime authorities in France were seen hauling people out of the sea, French news outlet, La Voix Du Nord, reports.
The same publication reported that two migrants died as they attempted to cross the Channel and one person was missing. About 50 migrants were seen attempting to board a small boat off the coast of Gravelines, during an attempted crossing on Wednesday. At least 12 French police officers were on the beach as the migrants, including children, struggled to get aboard the vessel.
Reports of deaths in the Channel come after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a two-month extension to the current beach patrol deal with France hours before the illegal migration agreement was due to expire.
The existing near £500million agreement between London and Paris was due to expire at midnight. The extension was signed while the UK and France continued to thrash out a deal.
Operational contracts will be funded by £16.2m in UK funding, which will be covered as part of the new deal, according to the Home Office.
A spokesperson from the department said: “The Home Secretary is driving a hard bargain with the French to deliver the best deal for the British people to prevent illegal migrants crossing the channel. Essentially getting more bang for our buck.”
So far this year, about 4,441 people have arrived in the UK on small boats. Figures from Oxford University’s Migration Observatory show 24 people died trying to cross the English Channel by small boat last year. This was down from 73 in 2024.
A French policeman films a group of migrants on a beach in Gravelines (Image: PA Wire/Gareth Fuller)
Steve Smith, CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais, said: “It is a tragedy that another two lives have been lost to our deadly border. That this latest tragedy comes hours after the Home Secretary agreed an extension to their brutal border deal with France is telling.”
He described Britain’s border as a silent killer through political choice, adding: “The UK-French agreements on border security do not work as a deterrent, but they do kill.
“If the UK Government wanted to save lives, and end Channel crossings, they would immediately introduce safe routes for refugees to claim asylum in the UK.
“That they choose not to do so is a clear political choice that has real life consequences for those seeking sanctuary. It continues to be a stain on our political leaders.”
Meanwhile, officials in Turkey said 18 migrants died when the vessel they were travelling in capsized in the Aegean Sea on Wednesday after a high-speed chase by the country’s coast guard.
Turkey’s Coast Guard Command said the boat carrying dozens of migrants ignored repeated warnings to stop and attempted to flee at high speed. The boat began to take on water in the rough seas and eventually capsized.
The sinking happened off the coastal city of Bodrum, a popular Turkish vacation destination.
Rescue teams, supported by a helicopter dispatched from the nearby city of Izmir, pulled 21 survivors from the water and recovered 18 bodies, according to the Coast Guard.
Rescue teams were continuing to search for any possible remaining people. Idris Akbiyik, Governor of Mugla province where Bodrum is located, all the migrants were from Afghanistan and one of the victims was a baby.