A man from Syria has died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the UK, the Government has said.
More than 30 people were rescued after a boat got into difficulty in the Channel overnight on Friday, the French Coastguard said.
A helicopter and boats were deployed to rescue the 35 migrants, including about 15 who were in the water. The man was pronounced dead at around 4.30am on Saturday, according to French media.
French outlets reported that the migrant who died was Syrian and was crushed by other migrants while on a leaky dinghy.
The migrants were taken onto a rescue boat and returned to Boulogne-sur-Mer, a major fishing port on the north coast of France, where they were taken care of by land rescue services and the border police, the French coastguard said.
One teenager was taken to hospital in a stable condition, it added.
A UK Government spokesman said: “We can confirm there has been a tragic incident involving a small boat on the French coast which has resulted in the loss of one life. Our thoughts are with those affected.
“This latest tragedy underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings, and we continue to do everything we can to prevent them.
“These criminals only care about profit, not the lives they put at risk, which is why they are cramming ever-greater numbers of people on to increasingly flimsy and dangerous boats.”
The French coastguard also warned of the dangers of crossing the Channel and said this area is one of the busiest in the world, with more than 600 merchant ships passing through every day.
It comes after figures showed the number of migrants arriving in the UK in 2024 after crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter on the previous year.
Some 36,816 people made the journey in 2024, a jump of 25 per cent from the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, according to provisional figures from the Home Office.
The total is down 20 per cent on the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022, however.
Additional reporting by PA.
