A man and a woman are reported to have drowned on Wednesday trying to cross the Channel to the UK in a small boat.
Fifty-eight others were rescued, with many of the survivors understood to have been suffering from hypothermia.
The latest tragedy comes just two days before the second anniversary of the deadliest drowning in the Channel in 40 years on 24 November 2021, when at least 27 people drowned.
NGOs in northern France say there have been four other deaths at the border in recent days, with two people killed on the highway between Calais and Dunkirk and two dying in a fight.
There were about 100 people in the dunes on a beach close to Boulogne earlier on Wednesday waiting to cross the Channel, according to eye witnesses. Police with riot shields fired teargas and one group, which included the man and woman who died, tried to get on to a dinghy as fast as possible to avoid being caught by the police.
The dinghy was later reported to have gotten into difficulty less than a kilometre from the French shore and capsized. French authorities mounted a rescue operation.
Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor Guirec Le Bras said the boat was among several to leave a beach near the French port on Wednesday morning and that a manslaughter investigation has been launched after the two deaths.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said: “We are heartbroken by this loss of life and our immediate thoughts are with the family and friends who have lost their loved ones. The new home secretary must finally be the one to face up to reality.
“People will continue to attempt dangerous Channel crossings while they are without safe access to fair and efficient asylum procedures on each side of the water – including safe routes to the UK for people whose family and other connections are here.
“We urge ministers to radically change their focus – rather than trying to avoid all responsibility for asylum, the UK must accept its part in providing safety and encourage other countries to do the same.”
Axel Guadinat of the French NGO Utopia 56, which provides support to migrants in northern France, said: “The rhythm of death at the UK-France border is frantic. We must change our policies to provide a dignified welcome and some safe routes for these people who ask for nothing except a bit of respect.”
Hours after Wednesday’s deadly crossing another boat carrying 58 migrants arrived in Dungeness. About 26,000 people have crossed the Channel so far this year, a reduction of about one-third on last year’s figure. The UK has paid £500m to France in a three-year funding package to crack down on small boat crossings.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “This is yet another appalling and preventable tragedy that demonstrates once again the urgent need for safe routes, so men women and children from countries such as Afghanistan don’t have to take dangerous journeys across the world’s busiest shipping lane.
“Instead of taking forward the unfair, unworkable and expensive Rwanda plan that slams our door in the face of refugees, the government should focus on expanding safe routes and creating a well functioning and humane asylum system.”
