Two men died overnight off the French coast while trying to cross the English Channel to Britain, French authorities said on Monday, as two women were hospitalised with burns.
The latest tragedy unfolded late Sunday off the coast of the northern town of Berck. Two women suffering burns over large areas of their bodies were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials confirmed.
Regional daily La Voix du Nord reported that the burns resulted from a chemical reaction that occurs when gasoline mixes with seawater.
According to the newspaper, a boat carrying 120 people set off on Sunday night, leaving about 20 migrants stranded in the water after they were unable to board.
Rescuers recovered two men who were in cardiac arrest and two Somali women, aged 20 and 26, who were injured, La Voix du Nord said.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the deaths.
The incident comes days after three people, including a 10-year-old child, died during another attempted crossing last week. There have now been at least 24 migrant deaths at the Franco-British maritime border since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
France has long served as a staging post for asylum seekers without visas hoping to reach Britain. Many pay smugglers thousands of dollars to board unstable and often overcrowded rubber dinghies for the hazardous journey across one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
