Rescue units handle victims after an attempt to cross the English Channel turned tragic with several migrants found in cardiac arrest, in Equihen-Plage, France, on April 9, 2026 SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP
Four people died on Thursday, April 9, off the coast of northern France as they tried to board a small boat to cross the Channel to England, taking the number of such deaths this year to six.
The two men and two women were swept away by the current near the village of Equihen-Plage, regional official François-Xavier Lauch said. Another person was treated for hypothermia, he said, while 37 people were taken into the care of the emergency services. The nationalities of the four dead were not yet known, local prosecutor Cécile Gressier said.
Two men, one Sudanese and the other Afghan, died last week trying to make a similar crossing – the first reported deaths in the Channel this year.
France has long been a launchpad for migrants hoping to reach Britain, taking the dangerous journey in often flimsy, overcrowded vessels. Last year, at least 29 people died, according to an AFP tally based on official French and British sources.
