TO immigrant He died on Wednesday trying to cross the Channel to Britain, French authorities said, while the date of death was not immediately clear for three other people found dead on beaches.

The findings bring to around 60 the number of deaths this year linked to crossing on overcrowded boats.

As British and French authorities seek to crack down on people smuggling Gangs, activists say smugglers are now herding larger groups of migrants hoping for a better life in the UK onto increasingly unsafe boats.

The man who died on Wednesday was one of 15 who fell into the sea off Hardelot in northern France, the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and North Sea said.

A helicopter transported the migrant to land where he was pronounced dead.

Fire Chief Baptiste Gournay said the man was 28, while prosecutors in Boulogne-sur-Mer said he “could have been Kuwaiti.”

In total, 61 people were rescued, including one who was in very critical condition and another five were also taken to hospital.

Gournay said three other migrants were also fighting for their lives after a second rescue operation off the Merlimont area, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the south.

Many people attempted to cross during the night and early morning when weather conditions were calm, the prefecture said.

Hours after the death, the bodies of three immigrants were discovered on different beaches in northern France, including Hardelot.

It was not immediately clear when the men might have died.

“For now, we are counting the dead,” said Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Leleu.

‘One death every five days’

On Wednesday morning, a deflated blue and black boat lay on Hardelot beach, according to an AFP journalist.

Rescue services, including fire trucks with their lights flashing, had been deployed to the shore.

Rescuers took about 20 migrants to a nearby building to warm up.

About three kilometers from the coast, journalists saw six soaked migrants, some wrapped in survival blankets, sitting on a bench.

A member of the charity Utopia 56 which works with migrants said several people suffered “severe hypothermia” after falling into the sea.

An increasing number of immigrants and asylum Searchers have crossed the English Channel since 2018 despite repeated warnings about the dangerous journey.

After Wednesday’s deadly accident, not far from the same beach, an AFP journalist saw around 70 people, including children, get into the water to get on a boat. Some wore a life jacket, while others held a giant inflatable hoop.

After the engine failed to start, about 40 people disembarked and returned to the beach.

The inflatable boat finally left with about 30 people on board.

During the night, AFP journalists saw two groups leaving in the dark from Sangatte, an area further north, near the port city of Calais.

Celestin Pichaud of Utopia 56 said the situation was “beyond dramatic.”

“For several months, one person has died every five days” trying to cross the English Channel, he said.

“Land and sea rescue services are completely overwhelmed.”

Deadly drownings and crushes on overcrowded boats since January have made 2024 the most dangerous year for migrants trying to reach Britain by sea since 2018.

An Indian died on Sunday off the French coast while trying to cross the English Channel.

On Wednesday last week, a woman and two men died after their small boat sank in the English Channel off Calais.

The week before, a four-month-old baby died on an overloaded ship heading to the United Kingdom.

More than 1,500 migrants landed on British shores in the last week, according to figures from the UK Home Office.

(AFP)