Overview
- An overcrowded small boat that launched off Hardelot drifted when its engine failed and ran aground at Neufchâtel-Hardelot.
- Authorities counted about 82 people on board, and a gendarmerie rescue vessel took 17 off at sea before the rest reached shore when the boat grounded.
- Two women in their twenties, believed to be Sudanese, were found dead inside the boat, and officials said they likely suffocated under the crush of the crowd.
- Hospitals in Boulogne-sur-Mer treated burn victims and other wounded, including three in critical condition, with burns linked to fuel reacting with seawater on makeshift craft.
- Police opened an inquiry and are interviewing more than 70 survivors at the Coquelles border police site to identify the organizers in what is the region’s third deadly crossing in a little over a month.