Four migrants — two men and two women — drowned during a failed “taxi-boat” attempt to cross the English Channel from the beach near Équihen-Plage in the Pas-de-Calais.
The tragedy unfolded at around 7 am this morning in a chaotic boarding operation.
Emergency services were called to the scene, with ambulances and fire service 4×4 vehicles arriving around 7:30 am and heading about 2km down the beach toward Écault to assist people in difficulty.
French authorities later confirmed that the victims were swept away by strong currents while trying to climb aboard the small motorboat. The Pas-de-Calais prefecture said a “taxi-boat shipwreck occurred” and that the death toll was still being verified.
The boat continued its journey toward the UK with about 30 people on board.
Gendarmes did not intervene to stop the departure.
At a press conference on the beach, Prefect François-Xavier Lauch said the four people “tried to board a taxi-boat” and “the currents, which can be dangerous here, swept them away”. He described the death toll as “provisional”.
Equihen-Plage Mayor Christian Fourcroy, who went to the scene, said there had been “a failed departure” around 7 am, after which “some migrants found themselves in the water”.
He reported that “three or four” people were in cardiac arrest at one point and “around 30” survivors were being helped on the beach with survival blankets.
One person was treated for hypothermia, while 37 others received assistance from rescuers.
Lauch blamed the people smugglers, adding: “It is the heart of our action to dismantle the smuggling networks.”
This is the second fatal incident this year. Two migrants died on April 1 in similar boarding chaos near Gravelines.
The attempt came as large numbers of migrants have been trying to reach England. Yesterday alone, around 100 people were rescued at sea. After weeks of rough conditions, the sea became completely calm with the return of good weather, encouraging many to take the risk.
Official figures show that 41,472 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats throughout 2025, the second-highest total on record. In the first quarter of 2026, 4,441 people made the crossing, a 33 per cent drop compared with the same period last year, which authorities attribute largely to poor weather rather than enforcement.
