One person has died trying to cross the Channel in an overcrowded dinghy, as a number of small boats made the dangerous journey over the weekend.
Thirty-four others were rescued from what was described as a “migrant boat” off the northern French port of Calais, after a call for help was made in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to French authorities.
The latest incident follows the deaths of at least six people in three separate incidents in the Channel between 12 and 19 July. Children were among a group of about 50 people who were brought into Dover on Saturday onboard a UK Border Force vessel.
The latest person who died was found unconscious during the rescue operation in the early hours of Sunday morning, the French maritime authority Premar said.
The authority told the AFP media agency that the death had been the result of what was described as “a new phenomenon of people dying at sea not by drowning (but) by illness or in a crush”.
They were declared dead after being airlifted to Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital by a French naval helicopter.
At least 75 people were said to have been on board the vessel. While some people were taken off, the others refused the assistance offered during the rescue and the vessel was allowed to continue, under surveillance by a French patrol boat.
“Given the risks of falling overboard or injury to people in the event of forced intervention, the decision was made to let the other people on the boat continue on their way,” Premar said in a statement.
In the week up to Saturday, 342 people crossed the Channel in seven boats, UK Home Office figures show. More than 12,000 people have made the crossing so far this year, according to provisional figures released in mid-June.
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The figure was 18% higher than for the equivalent point last year, when 10,472 people had made the crossing.