Three migrants, a 10-year-old child and two women, have died while attempting to cross the English Channel from France to the UK.
French authorities said that 105 people on board an inflatable dinghy were rescued after calling for assistance.
A medical team was transported to the rescue boat by helicopter to help the survivors, but the child and two women could not be saved.
Francois-Xavier Lauch, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said that the likely cause of death had been given as crushing.
“Apparently there was no drowning, it was likely crushing – which is just as dreadful, especially if we think of the 10-year-old child,” he said at a press conference on Monday morning.
The accident occurred after the dinghy had left Bleriot Plage, near Calais, on Monday morning, with ship tracking data showing rescue boats still in the area.
Home Office figures show 18,609 people have successfully made the journey so far this year.
This is down 42 per cent on this time last year (32,188), and 26 per cent below the figure at this stage in 2024 (25,165).
More than 700 people arrived in the UK on Wednesday – the highest number for a single day so far this year.
Last week, a man was found dead on a beach in northern France.
An investigation is under way, with French media reporting that it will examine whether the death was linked to an attempted Channel crossing.
“The lifeless body of a man, who appeared to be of African origin, was discovered this morning on the Neufchatel-Hardelot beach,” a translated statement from a spokesperson for the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said on Wednesday.
“An investigation has been launched by the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office.”
On the same day last week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command after two migrant boats evaded Border Force to reach UK shores in as many days.
Ms Mahmood said on Wednesday that “even one” uncontrolled landing is “one too many”, and that the urgent review she had ordered would look into “what must be done to ensure it doesn’t happen again”.
Prior to this, no small boat arrivals to the UK coast without an escort had been officially recorded since September 6, 2025.
Uncontrolled landings are so rare that last year’s incident was the only other one recorded since the Home Office began keeping data in 2023.