Woman dies after trying to cross English Channel

A woman has died while trying to cross the English Channel on a “heavily loaded” boat that was in “difficult” condition, French maritime authorities said.

Officials said that at 04:30 GMT, a French patrol was on the scene and some people on board the loaded vessel off the coast of Calais asked for help.

A person was found “unconscious” and taken to a hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France by helicopter, where he later died.

Authorities said 34 other people were rescued but many on board refused help and remained on board.

During the night, a migrant ship leaving the coast of Calais was reported to the French Operational Surveillance and Rescue Centre.

There were 75 people on board the “overcrowded” ship, according to Agence France-Presse.

Two patrol units were deployed to find the boat and arrived at around 04:30 GMT to find it “in a serious condition,” French maritime authorities said in a statement.

They added that some people on board the boat asked for help, and patrol units began rescuing people in “need” and removing them from the boat.

They said: “During the transfer process, it was noticed that one of the people on board the migrant ship was unconscious, and the person was transferred on board the ship and first aid was provided to him immediately.”

The woman was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer where she later died.

French maritime authorities said there was a “new phenomenon of people dying at sea not from drowning but from illness or stampede.”

The 34 people rescued from the boat were taken to the port of Calais, where they were treated by rescue services and border police.

French maritime authorities said several people on board the migrant ship refused assistance and remained on board.

“Given the risk of people falling overboard or being injured during the forced intervention, the decision was taken to allow the remaining individuals on board to continue their journey,” they said.

More than 14,000 people have crossed the English Channel so far this year.

After winning the general election, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer scrapped the previous Conservative government’s plan to send some people arriving in the UK illegally to Rwanda. He had previously pledged to divert £75m from policy to create a Border Security Command.

Following Labour’s election victory, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said her party would “address the root of the problem” by targeting criminal smuggling gangs “who make millions from small boat crossings, undermine the security of our borders and put lives at risk”.

She added in statements to the media that the appointment of a new commander for border security as well as a new cross-border police represents a “major upgrade in law enforcement.”