One person is feared dead and others are missing after migrant boat capsizes in Channel

Three people, including an infant, are feared dead after a migrant boat capsized off the French coast in stormy weather while trying to cross the Channel to the UK.  

A huge search and rescue operation is underway to try and find other missing migrants. 

At least 18 people have been rescued but one drowned and two others, including a child, died of a cardiac arrest, according to local French newspaper Voix Du Nord. 

A fourth victim, a child, is also thought to be critically ill.  

The major operation was launched this morning off Loon-Plage near Dunkirk after the boat capsized. 

A French SAMU rescue helicopter lands close to a rescue vessel during the search operation

The alert, received by the emergency services, mentioned three missing at sea, thirteen people in a state of hypothermia and three people in cardiac arrest, according to the local paper.

There were children between the ages of five and eight among the group of migrants in distress.

The French Coastguard were alerted by the sailing boat Marbuzet of the presence of a migrant boat in difficulty in the Dunkirk channel.

The nearby fishing vessel Meuchik, Dunkirk pilot boat, lifeboat Notre Dame des Flandres of the national sea rescue society (SNSM) from Gravelines, the Garonne of the French Navy, Customs patroller Jacques Oudart Fourmentin (JOF) as well as a Belgian Air Force helicopter are all involved in the rescue.

French rescue workers stand next to a rescue vessel during the search operation

The French Prefecture Maritime for the English Channel and North Sea district said 18 people have already been taken care of at Calais and Dunkirk hospitals.

They said the boat carrying the migrants sank.

In a news release they added: ‘Search operations are still underway.

‘At the same time, an operational PC was activated on land under the authority of the Dunkirk sub-prefect to coordinate the resources engaged by SDIS 59 and SAMU 59.

An investigation was opened by the public prosecutor of Dunkirk to identify the causes of this sinking. 

Police officers stand near a police car at Dunkirk port as the search operation continues

A policeman stands next to a rescue vessel during the search operation

‘It seems that one person, who might be an infant, is still missing,’ Tourmente said, noting that stormy conditions had made the attempted crossing especially perilous. 

Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke said: ‘It is terrible to hear that tragedy has struck in the Channel once again.

‘People traffickers have no regard for human life, no matter how old or young.

‘These perilous crossings must be stopped, once and for all, before more lives are lost in these stormy winter seas.’

Bridget Chapman, of Kent Refugee Action Network, tweeted: ‘I hope that everyone is safe. We need safe & legal routes now!’

A SAMU (French Urgent Medical Aid Service) helicopter lands at Dunkirk port in norther France

International refugee law specialist Dan Sohege, director of Stand For All, wrote: ’18 people we know of have suffered already because of this. We don’t know how many more may have done.

‘Whatever your view on people crossing the channel, remember these are people with names, with families, with hopes and dreams.

‘They aren’t just statistics. Please show respect.’ 

A growing number of migrants have tried to cross the busy shipping lane for Britain in recent months, with four deaths recorded in 2019 and four again so far this year, including the victim from today.

In September, French authorities said they had intercepted over 1,300 people trying to reach the UK, including a handful who attempted to swim across the Channel. 

These included French patrol boats and a helicopter from the Belgian Air Force as well as a fishing boat.

The search operation remains under way.

An investigation into the causes of the sinking has been launched by the Dunkirk public prosecutor.