Two migrants have died off the coast of France after a small boat got into difficulty during an attempt to cross the English Channel, French authorities have confirmed.
Six other people were rescued, with one taken to hospital, after the incident near Gravelines, close to Calais, on Wednesday morning.
The French maritime prefecture said the episode began at around 9.30 am when a small boat moved towards the shoreline where a group of about 30 migrants, including children, was waiting to board.
Witnesses reported scenes of confusion as people struggled to get onto the vessel.
Eight migrants were eventually pulled from the water and taken onto a rescue boat, while two others could not be saved.
At least 12 French police officers were present in the beach area at the time, officials said.
A French navy helicopter was deployed to search the surrounding waters to ensure no one else had been left behind.
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The deaths came a day after the United Kingdom (UK) Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a two-month extension to the existing UK-France arrangement on Channel crossings.
Reports insisted that the move was agreed shortly before a £478m deal, originally put in place in 2023, was due to expire.
The agreement funds additional law enforcement activity along the French coast and supports the construction of a new detention centre.
Under the extension, operational contracts will continue to be financed through £16.2m of UK government funding while negotiations continue on a longer-term framework.
A Home Office spokesperson said the Home Secretary was “driving a hard bargain” with Paris to secure “more bang for our buck,” with officials understood to be seeking performance-related clauses that would link funding to the number of boats intercepted.
Latest Home Office figures show that 4,441 migrants arrived in the UK in the first three months of 2026, a 33 per cent fall compared with the same period last year, when 6,642 crossings were recorded.
Refugee charity Care4Calais described the latest incident as “a tragedy” and renewed calls for the creation of safe routes to allow people to claim asylum in the UK without attempting dangerous sea crossings.