Rescuers found the women in cardiac arrest but couldn’t save them, the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais region, in northern France, said in a statement. A couple and their child with hypothermia were transported to a hospital in Boulogne, it said.
French authorities report that two women have died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the U.K. on a makeshift boat carrying other migrants.Two women died Saturday morning while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the U.K. on board a makeshift boat carrying other migrants, French authorities said.The incident happened off the coast of the small town of Neufchatel-Hardelot. Local media say over 60 migrants were rescued overnight. The prefecture said police prevented several attempts at crossing.
According to the prefecture, 17 migrants have died since the beginning of the year while attempting to reach the U.K. on board small boats from the coast of the Pas-de-Calais region.
Earlier this week, a family of three, including a small child, became the first people sent to the U.K. by France under an agreement in which Britain returns migrants who enter the country without authorization and France sends vetted asylum-seekers
