At least two people are missing and dozens rescued after a ship travelling from France to Britain capsized.
At least 12 people have died and dozens have been rescued after the boat they were travelling on capsized during an attempt to cross the English Channel, authorities said.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Tuesday that 12 people had died and rescue operations were underway to find two people still missing.
He said he would travel to the site, near the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, later in the afternoon.
“Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat broke,” explained Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Etienne Baggio, spokesman for the French maritime prefecture that oversees that stretch of sea, said rescuers had pulled 65 people from the water.
Baggio described it as the deadliest tragedy involving a migrant boat in the English Channel this year. Many of those on board were not wearing life jackets, he said. It was not immediately clear how the boat broke open or what type of vessel it was. Some are trying to cross in inflatable boats.
The maritime prefecture said the ship had run into trouble near the tip of Gris-Nez, between Boulogne-sur-Mer and the port of Calais further north.
Sea temperatures off the northern coast of France were around 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit).
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the deaths “horrible and deeply tragic”.
In a statement, Cooper criticized the “gangs behind this heinous and cruel trade in human lives,” adding that they “care about nothing but the profits they make.”
At least 30 refugees and migrants have died or gone missing while trying to cross into the UK this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
At least 2,109 people have attempted to cross the English Channel in small boats in the past seven days, according to updated Home Office figures on Tuesday.
The data includes people found in the canal or upon arrival.
