A 10-year-old child and two 30-year-old women have died after a heavily overcrowded small boat attempting to cross the English Channel got into difficulty off the northern coast of France.

French emergency officials responded to a distress call on Monday morning after the vessel, carrying 105 people, departed from Blériot Plage in Sangatte. Paramedics flown in by helicopter treated three passengers on board, but the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea confirmed they were pronounced dead. Rescuers brought the remaining 102 people back to the port of Calais, where emergency medical services treated nine survivors at the quayside.

The Pas-de-Calais prefecture described the vessel as a "taxi-boat" — an operation where passengers are forced to wade out into the water to board. While a formal investigation is under way to determine the precise cause of death, authorities said initial findings point towards trampling on board. François-Xavier Lauch, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, blamed smuggling networks for the deaths, saying they deliberately expose vulnerable people, including children, to lethal risks.

The tragedy follows the deaths of three other people after similar taxi-boat departures last week. According to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, 20 migrants have died attempting to cross the Channel so far this year, compared with 21 during the same period last year. United Nations figures recorded at least 84 deaths during crossings in 2024.

What makes these journeys increasingly dangerous is passenger density. Between late September 2025 and late September 2026, boats reaching the UK carried an average of 67 people — more than double the average in 2021.

Crossings remain frequent despite the dangers, particularly during the summer when calmer seas encourage more attempts. On Wednesday, the UK recorded its highest daily total of the year, with 781 people arriving across 10 small boats. Two boats also landed unintercepted on Kent beaches at Folkestone and Samphire Hoe last week.

To put the scale into context, small boat arrivals made up roughly 5% of total UK immigration based on 2025 figures, but accounted for 40% of all UK asylum applications between July 2025 and June 2026. Nearly all arrivals claim asylum, giving them the legal right to remain while their cases are processed. Home Office data shows at least 2,335 arrivals in 2025 were identified as potential victims of modern slavery or trafficking.

Overall crossings in 2026 remain down on last year. We previously reported that 19,135 people had crossed between 1 January and 27 September; the updated official figure stands at 18,609. That represents a 42% drop compared to the same period in 2025, when 32,188 people made the journey.

The UK government, which has pledged to "push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade", continues to operate a "one in, one out" returns agreement agreed with France last July. The arrangement allows the UK to return certain small boat arrivals while accepting an equal number of people from France who have legitimate claims to enter Britain.

The full outcome of the French investigation and the identities of those who died have not yet been released. I will be following this story — check back for updates.