PARIS (Reuters) -One person died in his attempt to cross the Channel in a dinghy to Britain, the French coastguard said on Wednesday, while the bodies of three other migrants were found at a beach, according to media reports.
France’s Regional Operational Centre for Surveillance and Rescue (CROSS) dispatched a rescue vessel and a French Navy helicopter after reports of people struggling in the water between Hardelot and Équihen-Plage on Wednesday morning.
Rescuers airlifted around 15 people to safety, but one individual was declared dead despite emergency efforts.
On Wednesday afternoon, three bodies were found at nearby beaches, local media franceinfo and La Voix Du Nord reported. They cited a local prosecutor as saying an investigation was opened to establish a possible link with the earlier drowning.
The public prosecutor’s office in Boulogne-Sur-Mer did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
Several dozen migrants have died this year in their efforts to cross the Channel in unfit and overloaded boats despite strong currents in what is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
(Reporting by Marine StraussEditing by Gareth Jones)
