Two migrants found dead after small boat capsizes off French coast
Two migrants found dead after small boat capsizes off French coast
PA
French media reports that two people have died after a migrant boat capsized off the French coast this evening.
French and British maritime agencies were called to reports of a boat in difficulties about 8 miles from the port of Boulogne, around 5pm.
French officials said 60 people were crammed onboard the small boat, which began sinking.
UK authorities sent the Border Force vessels Ranger and Blue Northerner, along with the Dungeness lifeboat and a coastguard helicopter from Lydd airport in Kent.
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They supported French maritime agencies, who had control of the rescue operation in their territorial waters.
Two migrants, a woman and a man in their thirties, are reported to have drowned.
A third migrant was taken to hospital, but their condition is not yet known.
Some other migrants have been taken to Dungeness in Kent.
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Some other migrants have been taken to Dungeness in Kent.
PA
A third migrant was taken to hospital, but their condition is not yet known.
PA
Local ambulances have been sent to Dungeness to check those arriving, with some believed to have suffered effects from prolonged exposure in the water.
An investigation into the incident is being carried out by the French prosecutor's office in Boulogne.
There is no detail yet on why the small boat got into difficulties.
But weather conditions in the Channel are choppy, with 20-knot winds being reported in the area.