This was the third such tragedy in just over a month.<\/p>\n
The women, aged around 20, were aboard a small boat carrying 82 people that set out to sea south of the town of Neufchatel-Hardelot, Christophe Marx, a local government official, told reporters. Officials believe the two victims are of Sudanese origin.<\/p>\n
Separately, Utopia 56, a migrant aid association, described the two victims as a 16-year-old child and a 20-year-old woman. One other victim – a pregnant woman — was in critical condition, the group said. <\/p>\n
“We can’t see the end of this story. No one has the real solutions. And it’s tragic,” Paulette Juilien-Peuvion, the mayor of Neufchatel-Hardelot, told AFP.<\/p>\n
She said she was sad to see “these young people trying to flee.”<\/p>\n
“There were notably pregnant mothers among them. I heard about a pregnant mother who also had another child with her,” she said.<\/p>\n
The boat set out to sea south of Neufchatel-Hardelot, about 12 kilometres (seven miles) south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the night from Saturday to Sunday.<\/p>\n
But “the engine wouldn’t start” and the boat began to drift, Marx said.<\/p>\n
Seventeen people were rescued at sea and taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer.<\/p>\n
The boat with the remaining 65 people on board eventually ran aground on a beach near Neufchatel-Hardelot, he said, adding that the two women had been found “dead inside the boat”.<\/p>\n
“They did not drown,” he said, indicating that the two most likely died from “suffocation, as unfortunately often happens.”<\/p>\n
The mayor of Neufchatel-Hardelot said the two women suffered cardiac arrest, suggesting that they might have been “crushed at the bottom of the boat when there are so many on board.”<\/p>\n
‘Policies are killing’<\/p>\n
Three others suffered chemical burns “due to a mixture of fuel and seawater,” the prefecture said.<\/p>\n
Fourteen more people had minor injuries and five of them were taken to hospital, officials said, citing the updated figures.<\/p>\n
They were “being treated and will be interviewed by border police to determine who is responsible for this crossing”, Marx said.<\/p>\n
An investigation has been launched.<\/p>\n
Utopia 56 said “the repressive” policies of French and British governments were behind the latest tragedy.<\/p>\n
“Repressive policies at the Franco-British border are killing,” the group said on X. “These lost lives are the result of political choices.”<\/p>\n
“It is urgent to put an end to this deadly situation: open the borders, establish safe routes for passage, and charter ferries.”<\/p>\n
On April 1, two migrants died off the coast of Gravelines in northern France while attempting to reach the United Kingdom. <\/p>\n
On April 9, two men and two women died near the village of Equihen-Plage, swept away by the currents.<\/p>\n
In 2025, at least 29 migrants died at sea in the region, according to an AFP tally based on official French and British sources.<\/p>\n
Last month, Britain and France signed a new three-year deal to stop undocumented migrants making the risky journey across the Channel in small boats.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, France pledged to increase law enforcement personnel on the coast by more than half, reaching 1,400 officers by 2029.<\/p>\n
According to French officials, the number of arrivals in Britain so far this year has been drastically cut from 2025.<\/p>\n
According to British figures, 41,472 people reached the United Kingdom illegally in small boats in 2025, the second-highest figure since large-scale crossings were first detected in 2018.<\/p>\n
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