Channel crossing kills two men off France

Two men died off northern France late Sunday while trying to cross the Channel to Britain in a makeshift boat carrying around 90 people, French authorities said.

The men, aged in their thirties and forties, were found in cardiac arrest off Berck-sur-Mer, according to the French maritime prefecture. Their nationalities were not immediately known. Emergency medical services later pronounced both dead, and prosecutors opened an investigation.

Two women were taken to hospital with burns over large parts of their bodies. Authorities said the injuries were caused by prolonged contact with fuel aboard the boat and were not considered life-threatening.

Migrant support group Utopia56 said the men died because asylum seekers were forced to risk their lives by government policies.

The incident came a week after three people, including a 10-year-old child, died in another attempted Channel crossing. At least 24 migrants have died at the Franco-British maritime border since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.

In a separate incident on Sunday, French authorities said 11 people in distress were rescued after a boat carrying around 80 people ran aground on a beach near Calais. They were airlifted to Le Touquet for medical treatment.

Channel crossings remain dangerous even in calm weather, with migrants often travelling in overcrowded inflatable boats ill-suited to open-sea conditions.