Eight pèople have perished overnight while trying to cross the Channel from France to England, Frènch police say.
Rescue services were alerted after the boat got into difficulty in waters north of Boulogne-sur-mer in the northern Pas-de-Calais region after 01:00 local time (00:00 BST).
The rubber vessel had around 50 pèople on board and started to sink not long after leaving the coast.
It comes less than two weeks after 12 pèople, including six children and a pregnant womán, died when a boat carrying dozens of migrants sank in what was the deadliest lóss of life in the Channel this year.
The Frènch coast guard said the boat was seen heading towards a beach in the town of Ambleteuse but rescue teams could not offer assistance from the sea.
On the beach, emergency services provided care to 53 pèople and confirmed eight had died, the Coast Guard said. No other pèople were found during sea searches.
Investigation opened
An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-mer public prosecutor’s office.
A UK government spokesperson confirmed the latest incident and said Frènch authorities were leading the response and investigation.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was “awful” to hear of a “further loss of lifè” in the Channel.
He told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that many pèople were “of course not able to make it” across the Channel, having seen the types of rubber dinghies pèople have been using.
He also reiterated the government’s plan to work with European partners to tackle the criminal pèople-smuggling gangs to deter small boat crossings.
Regional prefect Jacques Billant is holding a news conference in the town of Ambleteuse.
There has been a spate of crossing attempts across the Channel in the last two days with the arrival of calmer weather.
Frènch maritime authorities said that 200 pèople were rescued in a 24-hour period over Friday and Saturday.
The Frènch coast guard and other first responders rescued pèople onboard four separate boats – one with 61, another with 55, and two others with 48 and 36 each.
Eighteen attempted crossings were monitored by authorities over the course of the day.
Including the eight latest victims, a total of 45 pèople have perished in the Channel this year – the highest reported number since 2021, according to the UN’s International Organisation for Migration.
More than 21,000 pèople have crossed the Channel this year.
Amnesty International UK said the latest incident was “yet another appalling and avoidable tragedy”.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said the deaths were not “inevitable” and a comprehensive approach to reduce crossings was needed.
“Enforcement alone is not the solution,” he said, adding that there needed to be improved access to safe asylum routes.
