PARIS - Four migrants who tried to reach Britain died in the night from Thursday to Friday after their boat capsized in the Channel, a French coast guard spokesperson said on Friday, confirming earlier media reports.
A total of 67 people were aboard the boat off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, the spokesperson said, adding that 63 of them were rescued by an operation involving four ships and one helicopter.
The Channel between France and Britain is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing on small boats dangerous.
Several thousand people have arrived in Britain this year via small, overloaded boats - usually flimsy inflatable dinghies - that risk being lashed by the waves as they try to reach British shores.
This brings the number of people who have died in 2024 attempting to cross from France to Britain in often overloaded boats to 19.
On April 23, five migrants died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from an area near the town of Wimereux of France.
In December last year, one person was drowned and another seriously hurt when a boat carrying dozens of migrants trying to reach the English coast capsized in the Channel.