A young person wearing a baseball cap and a backpack and carrying a suitcase stands in the middle of the image. To the left of the image a passport with a boarding card is held up. To the right of the image is a migrant family of a man, woman and child on a beach, walking. In the top right corner is a partial view of a UK visa document

Four people die trying to cross Channel in small boats

July 30, 2026 adminsr

Four people died trying to cross the Channel in small boats overnight, French officials have said.

One man died after a vessel capsized off France’s northern coast late on Wednesday, with a one-year-old child among those injured.

Separately, three people were found dead aboard a small boat early on Thursday after launching from Dunkirk overnight, some 100km (62 miles) up the coast.

French officials confirmed their deaths after several hundred people crossed the Channel into the UK on Wednesday.

The first boat capsized off the coast at Hardelot around 23:30 local time (21:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

The man is thought to have been in his thirties or forties, officials added. Six other people including the child sustained minor injuries.

Local officials said the vessel was a “taxi” boat – vessels which cruise along the coast and pick up their paying customers who are waiting in the sea.

Security officials “neutralised” the boat and an investigation into the incident has been launched.

The second boat launched from the Dunkirk area overnight and was spotted near a breakwater off the coast at 06:00, the French coastguard said.

Search and rescue officials subsequently found three unconscious people on board. Their deaths were later confirmed by emergency medical personnel.

A UK government spokesperson said: “Every death in the Channel is a tragedy and a stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit.”