Two young women, believed to be of Sudanese origin, died on Sunday while attempting to reach Britain from northern France in a small boat, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The women, both aged around 20, were among 82 people on board the vessel, according to regional government official Christophe Marx, who spoke to reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boat departed overnight from Saturday to Sunday, but encountered trouble when its engine failed to start, causing it to drift at sea, Marx explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seventeen people were rescued at sea and transported to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remaining 65 passengers stayed on the boat, which later ran aground on a beach near Neufchatel-Hardelot, located about 12 kilometres south of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Authorities said the two victims were found dead inside the vessel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirteen people sustained moderate injuries, while three others suffered serious wounds, including burns, and were taken to hospital for treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey are being treated and will be interviewed by border police to determine who is responsible for this crossing,\u201d Marx said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that an investigation would confirm the victims\u2019 nationality. The incident marks the third such tragedy in just over a month along the French-British border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On April 1, two migrants died off the coast of Gravelines in northern France while attempting to reach the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On April 9, another four people \u2014 two men and two women \u2014 died after being swept away by strong currents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to an AFP tally based on official French and British data, at least 29 migrants died at sea in the region in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, Britain and France signed a new three-year agreement to strengthen security operations aimed at preventing such crossings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the deal, France will deploy more police and gendarmes to patrol its coastline, while the British government will increase its financial contribution to support these efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French officials also noted that the number of arrivals in Britain so far this year has dropped significantly compared to 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two young women, believed to be of Sudanese origin, died on Sunday while attempting to reach Britain from northern France in a small boat, officials said. The women, both aged… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3730,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1134,2098,1113],"class_list":["post-3729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-france","tag-sudanese-women","tag-uk"],"yoast_head":"\n