Four people died while trying to cross the English Channel in a small boat off the northern coast of France on Thursday morning.
During the harshest winter months, when the sea is dangerously rough and cold, the frequency of dangerous boat crossings attempting to reach the UK is reduced.
But as temperatures gradually begin to rise, more deaths are expected, with a total of six deaths so far in 2026.
What do we know about the incident?
Officials said he died after being swept away by a strong current while trying to board a boat. At least 42 other people were rescued in the incident between Equihain-Plage and Hardelot-Plage on the coast of Boulogne.
“Sadly we have to report four deaths this morning,” Francois-Xavier Louch, prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region, told reporters on Thursday. “The people who died were trying to board a taxi-boat.”
Migrant boats often run along the northern coast of France and sometimes Belgium, picking up passengers at various points along the way. As a result, French officials often refer to the vessels as “taxi-boats”.
“They were already far out to sea,” Loach said of those who died. “The currents, which could be dangerous here, carried them away.”
He said that the death toll is provisional. Another person was suffering from hypothermia, he said, and another 37 were currently being treated by emergency services.
Louch said several small boats were currently in the ocean and were being monitored by French authorities, including a military helicopter.
“The responsibility lies with the smugglers,” he told reporters.
Britain condemns ‘criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit’
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the deaths in French waters today,” a UK government spokesman said in response to the reports.
“Every death in the channel is a tragedy and a reminder of the dangers of criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit,” he said. “We will continue to work closely with the French and our partners abroad to stop these dangerous journeys.”
Two more migrants died on 1 April, while six others were rescued from gravelines near the major French port of Calais.
According to latest Home Office or Home Ministry dataNearly 5,000 people have arrived in Britain in small boats without permission this year, including more than 450 in seven boats in the first few days of April. In 2025, more than 40,000 people are reported to be making the crossing.
Last month, the UK and France failed to agree a new beach patrol deal aimed at reducing the number of departures, instead expanding the current arrangement as the governments tried to make a long-term plan.
The topic is often politicized in Britain, particularly by right-wing populist reform leader Nigel Farage.
Europol busts Vietnamese gang trying to smuggle people into Britain via EU
Also on Thursday, the European Police Agency Europol announces bust of Vietnamese cross-border smuggling ring Efforts are being made to bring people to Britain through the European Union.
Europol said the migrants entered the EU’s open border Schengen zone using short-stay visas or residence permits issued by Hungary before traveling to France by air. Once there, they were housed in lodgings in the Paris area, then transported on small boats to the beach and across the Channel.
“The final crossing into the UK was organized by a Kurdish-Iraqi migrant smuggling network operating in northern France,” Europol said.
It reported eight arrests, six in France, one in Germany and one in Hungary. A suspected network leader was arrested in Germany on a European arrest warrant.
Europol said it seized about 20 passports, three vehicles, electronic devices and about €10,000 (about $11,600) in cash. It estimated criminal profits for the group at “up to €3 million”, adding that it transported at least 15 migrants per month, charging them €22,000 for the entire journey. This is equivalent to several years’ salary of an average earning person in Vietnam.
Edited by: Elisabeth Schumacher