Coquelles (France) (AFP) – This is the third fatal tragedy in a month during an attempted clandestine crossing of the Channel by migrants wanting to reach the United Kingdom: two women died on Sunday morning in an overloaded makeshift boat which ran aground on a beach in Pas-de-Calais.

Published on: 03/05/2026 - 12:57

They were in a "small boat" type boat carrying "around 82 people", would be around twenty years old and of Sudanese origin, but the investigation should make it possible to "determine" their nationality, declared the secretary general of the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, Christophe Marx, during a press briefing in Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais).

The boat set sail during the night from Saturday to Sunday around 1:30 a.m. from the south of the town of Neufchâtel-Hardelot, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said in a press release.

“The engine did not start” and the boat began to drift, according to Mr. Marx. “Seventeen people were picked up” offshore by the maritime gendarmerie and “brought to the port of Boulogne-sur-mer”. There were 65 people left on board when the makeshift boat ran aground on the beach.

The two victims, found "deceased in the boat", "did not die from drowning", but probably "suffocated, as unfortunately often happens on boats which are not suitable" and overloaded, he said.

Open investigation

Fourteen people are in relative emergency, including five evacuated to hospitals and three others in absolute emergency, presenting in particular burns "due to a mixture of fuel and seawater", detailed the Pas-de-Calais prefecture.

All the people "are being taken care of" and "will be interviewed by the border police to determine who is responsible for this crossing", indicated the secretary general of the prefecture.

The Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor's office confirmed to AFP the opening of an investigation into aiding the residence and movement of foreigners in an irregular situation in an organized gang, participation in a criminal association, involuntary manslaughter aggravated by the clearly deliberate violation of an obligation of safety or prudence, aggravated involuntary injuries resulting in an ITT (total incapacity for work) of less than or equal to three months and endangering others.

This is the third tragedy of this type in just over a month on the Franco-British border.

On April 1, two migrants died off the coast of Gravelines (North) while trying to reach the United Kingdom. On April 9, four other people, two men and two women, died in the Equihen-Plage area (Pas-de-Calais), swept away by the currents.

"We can't see the end of this story. Nobody has the real solutions and it's dramatic," the mayor of Neufchâtel-Hardelot, Paulette Juilien-Peuvion, told AFP.

On its X account, the Utopia 56 association denounced the "repressive policies on the Franco-British border" which "kill", pointing out the political responsibility of the French and British governments in these tragedies.

New Franco-British agreement

“Multiplying repressive measures does not prevent crossings: it makes them more dangerous, more violent, more deadly. These lost lives are the result of political choices,” she said.

After several months of difficult negotiations, a new three-year Franco-British agreement, intended to curb clandestine Channel crossings, was signed on April 23, with an increase in the financial contribution from the United Kingdom.

This is the second renewal of the Sandhurst Treaty, concluded in 2018.

According to official figures from the British authorities, 41,472 people reached the United Kingdom illegally on small boats in 2025. This figure is the second highest since these crossings began in 2018.

Paris points out, however, that since the start of the year, arrivals in the United Kingdom have fallen by half compared to the same period last year.

In 2025, at least 29 migrants died at sea in the region, according to an AFP count based on official French and British sources.

© 2026 AFP

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.