ONE person has died and another is in critical condition after a boat carrying migrants got into difficulty in the Channel.
It is understood there were 66 people on board the boat, which got into trouble around five miles from the French coast.
The survivors have been taken to Calais, where the injured person is being treated in hospital.
Searches are still continuing by both air and sea, the French coastguard said.
French officials said they reached the boat around 1am local time, finding that one of the boat’s tubes was deflated and there were people in the water.
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One person who was unconscious was taken to Calais Hospital by helicopter, while the rest were brought to land by several rescue boats.
The rescue occurred a few miles off the French coast near Grand-Fort Philippe, 20km east of Calais.
It was the first attempted crossing for 11 days as a result of windy weather in the Channel.
However, 730 people made the journey in the first three days of December when the sea was calmer.
In total this year, more than 29,000 people have reached the UK in small boats – though this represents a fall of around a third on the same period last year.
In August, at least six people died after a boat carrying migrants sank in the Channel.
The UK Government has said that “stopping the boats” crossing the English Channel is a key priority.
It comes after Rishi Sunak pushed ahead with a plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, despite the Supreme Court ruling the policy unlawful.
The Prime Minister (above) dodged a humiliating defeat in the Commons earlier this week as MPs approved the Rwanda legislation.
Government minister Andrew Griffith said the confirmation of another migrant death showed why the crossing was “not a safe route” and that it was why the PM was “cracking down on the terrible trade of people traffickers”.
The science minister told Sky News: “Well, we are just hearing it now, but all of these are tragic stories.
“It shows once again the importance of cracking down on the terrible trade of people traffickers in the Channel.”
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