Overview
- French authorities launched a major rescue after a migrant dinghy got into trouble off Hardelot around 3am Sunday, and two women were confirmed dead.
- Officials first cited about 65 people on the dinghy, while regional official Christophe Marx later said roughly 82 were believed to have been crammed onto the boat that ran aground at Neufchatel-Hardelot.
- A second small boat in the same area carried on toward the UK as the incident unfolded, according to authorities.
- The deaths lift this year’s toll from English Channel small-boat attempts to at least eight, based on an AFP count using official French and UK sources.
- Britain and France last month signed a three-year security plan that increases French police and gendarme patrols on the coast as the UK boosts funding for joint efforts to stop crossings.