Migrant boat crossing in English Channel leads to woman's death

A woman migrant was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead after Border Force officers intercepted a small boat entering UK waters in the English Channel on Saturday. The UK government spokesperson said, “Despite medical assistance, we are deeply saddened to confirm that they have since died.”

The tragedy occurred amid a surge of crossings, with 710 people arriving on 11 boats at Dover on Monday and 392 people on six boats on Thursday. Roughly 10,000 migrants have made the journey by small boat this year, down from the same period last year. Earlier incidents this year saw two women, believed to be from Sudan, die when a boat carrying 82 people ran aground in northern France.

The UK and France have a new three‑year, £662 million deal to combat such crossings, involving the deployment of riot‑trained police to French beaches, drones, helicopters and a camera system to intercept smugglers and migrants.