Two women die trying to cross Channel from France to Britain

"Two women, both Somalis, died Saturday while trying to cross the Channel to Britain, French authorities said, adding that the body of another migrant had been found in a canal. Some 60 other migrants were rescued in the incident in which the two women died, when around 100 people got on to a makeshift boat south of the beaches of Neufchatel-Hardelot at around 3:15 am in a bid to get to the UK."

"Civil protection workers took in 60 people for care, while others who had been on the boat ran away when rescuers turned up, said Isabelle Fradin-Thirode, an official in nearby Montreuil-sur-Mer. A couple and their child suffering from moderate hypothermia were rushed to a hospital in Boulogne, she said. The body - that of a man in his late 20s or early 30s - was recovered from a canal in the town of Gravelines, next to Dunkirk, said the prefecture and AFP journalists at the scene."

"These latest incidents bring the number of Channel crossing deaths to at least 26 this year, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Since January, a record 32,000 migrants have arrived in Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats. Under a recent Franco-British scheme, the UK can return them after arrival if they are deemed ineligible for asylum, including those who have passed through a "safe country" to reach UK shores."

Two Somalis died while attempting to cross the Channel to Britain and another migrant's body was found in a canal. Around 100 people boarded a makeshift boat south of Neufchatel-Hardelot at about 3:15 am and the overloaded vessel returned an hour later after its motor failed. Civil protection workers cared for 60 rescued migrants while others fled when rescuers arrived. A couple and their child suffered moderate hypothermia and were hospitalized in Boulogne. The recovered body was a man in his late 20s or early 30s found in Gravelines. Channel crossing deaths have reached at least 26 this year and about 32,000 migrants have arrived in Britain by small boats since January. A Franco-British scheme allows returns of ineligible asylum seekers and reciprocal acceptance of some migrants likely to gain asylum.

Read at The Local France