Overview
- French officials said two men and two women died Thursday near Equihen-Plage after strong currents swept them away while they tried to board a dinghy used as a taxi-boat.
- Emergency crews rescued at least 42 people and treated them on the beach, with one person suffering hypothermia and two children taken to hospital as a precaution.
- Prosecutor Cécile Gressier said the vessel continued its trip with about 30 people aboard, and police have opened an investigation into the incident.
- The tragedy comes during stalled talks on Channel patrols after France rejected a UK plan to send Border Force vessels into French waters, as Britain pays a short-term extension to fund French beach patrols.
- Smuggling networks are using taxi-boats that collect people offshore and are shifting some launches to Belgium, where police report 17 departures this year, while crossings totaled about 41,500 in 2025.