One Channel crossing migrant has died after a small boat got into difficulty while attempting to make the perilous 21-mile journey from France to the UK.
The incident took place near Boulogne-sur-Mer, French authorities confirmed.
The Maritime Prefect of the Channel and the North Sea said 62 people were pulled from the water after the boat broke up.
French assistance and rescue intervention tug (RIAS) Abeille Normandie recovered 50 people on board, while the RNLI recovered two people and the Border Force Ranger nine people.
Migrants aboard a small boat (FIle pic)
PAAll those rescued were transferred to the Abeille.
One of those rescued by the RNLI lifeboat was declared dead by the medical team on board the French tug.
Among the survivors was a child and his mother suffering hypothermia, who were airlifted to hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The others were dropped off at the Boulogne-sur-Mer quay and taken care of by the land rescue services.
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Record numbers of people are crossing the Channel (file pic)
GB NEWSThe International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, tracks the number of people who died attempting to cross the Channel.
IOM estimates that at least 78 migrants died in 2024, making it the deadliest year on record.
Reacting to an earlier incident, a Home Office spokesman said: "We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
"That's with this Government is investing in border security, increasing returns to their highest levels for more than half a decade, and imposing a major crackdown on illegal working to end the false promise of jobs, used by gangs to sell spaces on boats."
It comes as a major "breakthrough" has been made in UK-EU reset talks ahead of today's meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen.
The meeting, nicknamed the "Surrender Summit" by Brexiteers, is expected to include a new arrangement between London and Brussels.
There is hope that the agreement could provide a new agreement to tackle Channel crossings.
However, it is not yet known how that will impact the UK.
