Lille, France, Aug 12 (AFP/APP): Six people were killed when a boat carrying migrants heading to Britain sank in the Channel early Saturday, French maritime officials said, as a search continued to find those still missing.
A spokeswoman from the French coastal authority Premar said between five and 10 passengers were still missing, while 55 had been rescued.
Three French ships, a helicopter and a plane have been mobilised to search the area off Sangatte in northern France, along with two British ships.
The local prosecutor said that the first victim was a man aged between 25 and 30 years old of Afghan origin, who had been evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Calais but later died.
Five other people in a critical condition were taken to Calais on a lifeboat but declared dead on the ship’s arrival, said the Premar spokesperson.
The boat capsized around 2 am local time (0000 GMT) off the northern coast of France, according to the prosecutor.
An AFP reporter in Calais saw some of those rescued disembarking from a patrol boat with emergency services on site.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, that her “thoughts go out to the victims” as she praised the efforts of the rescue teams.
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