At least 13 people died after a boat carrying around 70 migrants capsized in the English Channel. Multiple coast guards launched a search-and-rescue operation and are currently searching for possible survivors using air and sea resources.
The boat left France and was heading to Britain, according to the French interior minister.
The boat experienced difficulty in the English Channel with the number of people on board likely contributing to the boat’s structural failure. According to authorities, the boat ripped open.
Authorities pulled about a dozen people from the waters of the channel and they are in critical condition.
The overcrowding of vessels, a common occurrence in such crossings, poses severe risks to migrants.
Officials with the U.K. government said more than 2,000 migrants arrived in Britain during the week of Aug. 25. Most of the migrants came on small boats like the one that capsized.
According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 30 migrants died or went missing while trying to cross the English Channel this year.
Last week, both French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to work together to end migrant smuggling routes between France and Britain.
