Child among three killed off French coast in Channel crossing attempt

Three people, including ⁠a child, have died off the coast of France while attempting to cross the English Channel to the United Kingdom, French authorities have said.

France’s maritime police ‌said they had received a distress call from an inflatable dinghy carrying 105 people that ⁠had run into trouble ⁠in calm seas.

The prefecture said the incident involving a “taxi boat” occurred off the coast of Wissant, a seaside village in northern France.

“Taxi boat” refers to a dinghy that approaches the beach from the sea to pick up migrants in shallow waters off the beach.

All passengers on board requested rescue and were taken into care, said the maritime prefecture, adding that the dinghy had not sunk.

The AFP news agency reported that a rescue boat arrived at the port of Calais in mid-morning, where it began disembarking people rescued from the incident.

At least 29 migrants lost their lives last year trying to cross the Channel, according to an AFP tally based on official French and British sources.

More than 41,000 embarked on the dangerous journey across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes last year.

The issue has been depicted as a crisis by politicians, including Nigel Farage of the far-right party Reform UK, and has been used as a rallying point by anti-immigration activists.

Successive British governments have promised to stop crossings amid organised anti-immigration protests that drew hundreds of demonstrators.

In April, France and the UK signed an agreement to strengthen operations to prevent crossings, with a significant increase in human, technological and intelligence resources.

Last month, a plan put forward by Reform UK to deploy the navy to intercept and return asylum seekers arriving by boat triggered a dispute with France. The French Ministry of the Interior said the measure would breach international law.