Migrant dies trying to cross English Channel, says French coastguard

19 March 2025, 13:36 | Updated: 19 March 2025, 14:45

A migrant has died after getting into difficulty while trying to cross the English Channel, the French coastguard has said.

A rescue operation was launched after reports that a group of people tried to board a dinghy in the Equihen-Plage area, in northern France, shortly after 9am on Wednesday.

Two people were rescued from the water, with one suffering from hypothermia while the other was in cardiac arrest.

The pair were taken to the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer for treatment.

The person who suffered cardio-respiratory arrest was declared dead despite efforts to save them.

The coastguard added search operations are continuing off the coast of Pas-de-Calais to look for any other people who might be in the sea.

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The death is the third recorded by the French coastguard in its rescue operations in the English Channel this year.

Latest figures from the Home Office show no migrants have arrived by crossing the Channel in the last week.

Some 261 migrants arrived after making the journey in five boats on 10 March, taking the provisional total of arrivals for the year to 4,395 people.

(c) Sky News 2025: Migrant dies trying to cross English Channel, says French coastguard