(AP) – French authorities say at least four migrants, including two children, have died when a boat carrying at least 19 migrants capsized off France while trying to cross the English Channel to Britain. Rescue operations are still under way.
The regional administration for the Nord region said in a statement that those confirmed dead so far are a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old, and an adult woman and adult man. Such crossings have become increasingly common but deaths are rare.
French authorities Tuesday mobilized five ships and a Belgian helicopter nearby after the migrant boat was reported to be in distress off the coast of Dunkirk.