The incident occurred Saturday just before midnight when authorities spotted a boat, carrying dozens, in distress near a beach in the northern town of Ambleteuse. A French rescue ship was deployed to the area, but could not offer assistance at sea. Once the vessel reached the beach, rescue services offered medical assistance to 53 migrants, a statement from the French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea said.
“Despite the emergency care provided, eight people have died,” the statement said.
No people were discovered during the search at sea, it added.
Six people were taken to hospitals in Boulogne and Calais “in relative emergency,” including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia, Jacques Billant, the Pas-de-Calais prefect, told French media on Sunday. He said survivors of the accident come from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran.
The deceased were all male adults, Billant said. Survivors of the tragedy have been taken to the sports hall in Ambleteuse, according to a statement from the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais region. Prosecutor’s office in Boulogne-sur-mer has opened an investigation into the accident. The incident Saturday occurred nearly two weeks after a boat carrying migrants ripped apart in the English Channel as they tried to reach Britain from northern France, plunging dozens into the treacherous waterway and leaving 12 dead.
