A migrant has died in a boat blaze that also left seven injured as they tried to cross the English Channel.
Around 60 men, women and children had to be rescued off the coast of northern France early this morning after a fire broke out on their boat.
It is thought that the cause was a faulty motor on the vessel provided by people smugglers.
One man, whose age and country of origin is not known, died in the incident, according to French emergency services.
Multiple firefighters attended the scene, a spokesman said, with the blaze seriously burning two Somalian men, aged 20 and 26.
Several others showed signs of severe hypothermia, with those rescued either treated by paramedics or rushed to hospital.
Those on the vessel were brought back to Le Portel, close to Boulogne-sur-Mer, at around 3am this morning.
French prosecutors have opened a probe into the tragedy, while judicial police are looking for the people smugglers who arranged the crossing.
Those on the vessel were brought back to Le Portel, close to Boulogne-sur-Mer, at around 3am this morning
Crew members of the French rescue vessel “Abeille Normandie” look after a group of migrants on an inflatable dinghy sailing back to the Le Portel beach after their unsuccessful attempt to cross the English Channel
More than 10 people have died trying to reach Britain on small boats this year alone, with this weekend showing ‘intense activity’ due to the good weather and lack of wind, according to a source
More than 10 people have died trying to reach Britain on small boats this year alone, with this weekend showing ‘intense activity’ due to the good weather and lack of wind, according to a source.
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.
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 2024, a criminal probe 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.
Pressure has grown on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to stem the tide of Channel crossings to prevent future tragedies and slow down Reform UK’s electoral rise.
Pressure has grown on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to stem the tide of Channel crossings to prevent future tragedies
More than 6,600 migrants were detected in the Channel in small boats in the first three months of 2025
The rate of arrivals under his premiership has been higher than under any of his Conservative predecessors since small boats began coming from France seven years ago.
More than 6,600 migrants were detected in the Channel in small boats in the first three months of 2025 – over 30 per cent more than the previous record of just under 5,000 by this time last year, Home Office data shows.
Today Sir Keir unveiled plans to curb legal migration levels after net migration hit 728,000 in the year leading up to 2024.
But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: ‘On the day of Keir Starmer’s big fightback against Reform UK, 250 young men are already crossing the Channel by 8am.’
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