Child, 10, among three killed after dinghy got into difficulty in English Channel

A group of migrants attempt to cross the English Channel in a dinghy off Hardelot, northern France, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Three people have died and several more are injured after a boat carrying migrants from France to the UK got into difficulty in the English Channel.

Around 100 of an estimated 105 people in the dinghy have been rescued following the accident off the French coast at Wissant, near Calais, on Monday morning.

The boat had left Bleriot Plage earlier that day before getting into trouble in the water.

Authorities said they responded to a distress call and treated three people on board the boat, who were later confirmed dead by an emergency medical team flown out by helicopter, according to the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.

One of those killed was a 10-year-old child while the other two were women, both 30, according to French authorities.

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Migrants react as are they dispersed by police while they try to leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain, from the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Hannah McKay TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Rescuees walk with survival blankets after disembarking from an emergency response boat following their rescue from a shipwreck at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom, at the port of Calais, northern France, on September 28, 2026. Three people died on September 28 off the coast of France while attempting an illegal crossing of the Channel to the United Kingdom, French authorities said. "A shipwreck involving a taxi boat occurred today off the coast of Wissant," a seaside village in northern France, the prefecture said, using a term referring to a dinghy that approaches the beach from the sea to pick up migrants in shallow waters off the beach. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP via Getty Images)

The remaining passengers were taken ashore to the port of Calais by a rescue boat later on Monday morning, AFP news agency reported.

Ship tracking data this morning showed rescue boats were still in the area.

Francois-Xavier Lauch, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said in a press conference that the deaths were likely caused by a ‘crushing’ on board the crowded boat.

‘Apparently there was no drowning,’ he told reporters.

‘It was likely crushing – which is just as dreadful, especially if we think of the 10-year-old child.’

Figures published by the UK’s Home Office show that 18,609 people have successfully crossed the Channel so far in 2026, down 42% on this time last year (32,188), and 26% below the figure for the same time period in 2024 (25,165).

A group of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel in a dinghy are helped by members of a rescue team, in Hardelot, northern France, Wednesday Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
Rescuees walk with survival blankets after disembarking from an emergency response boat following their rescue from a shipwreck at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom, at the port of Calais, northern France, on September 28, 2026. Three people died on September 28 off the coast of France while attempting an illegal crossing of the Channel to the United Kingdom, French authorities said. "A shipwreck involving a taxi boat occurred today off the coast of Wissant," a seaside village in northern France, the prefecture said, using a term referring to a dinghy that approaches the beach from the sea to pick up migrants in shallow waters off the beach. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP via Getty Images)

More than 700 people arrived in the UK this way last Wednesday, marking the highest number in one day this year.

Last week also saw two uncontrolled landings, where migrant boats arrived on UK shores without being intercepted by authorities.

The BBC’s Simon Jones added that today’s deaths followed three more fatalities in the Channel last week.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command.

Original source Child, 10, among three killed after dinghy got into difficulty in English Channel

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