Tragedy as four people including a child die as 45 others rescued trying to cross the Channel to UK

FOUR people including a child have died with 45 others rescued from the water after trying to cross the Channel to the UK.

A desperate rescue operation on the beach at Sangatte in northern France was sparked after the tragedy in the early hours this morning.

Around 100 people tried to get on board a flimsy UK-bound dinghy designed for 12 in northern France on Sunday morning.

The horrific scene unfolded soon after dawn at Sangatte beach, on the coast at Calais, before the vessel continued to England.

Cops and fire crews scrambled in huge numbers to the beach near the Tom Souville base.

Two unidentified men were known to have died soon after 6am, while a third body was found in the sea at 10am.

Many survivors reported seeing a child falling in to the sea, and there was no sign of the missing youngster by this evening.

A total of 45 people were rescued and given survival blankets - with four being taken to hospital with hypothermia.

Around ten were said to be suffering from severe hypothermia after they were pulled from the sea.

Célestin Pichaud, coordinator of the Utopia 56 refugee charity, said: "People on site immediately told us that a child had fallen into the water, but we had no information about a child being found."

None of the people involved have yet been identified, and it is not known whether the deceased drowned, or were suffocated on the packed boat.

Two British Border Force vessels could also be seen mid-Channel, according to the Marine Traffic shipping website.

French emergency services rushed to the area, and managed to get dozens of survivors to the Tom Southville sail training centre in Sangatte.

A spokesman for the Maritime Prefecture said: "Around fifty people were being treated on land following the major rescue operation.

"A Naval helicopter was involved in taking people ashore. Seven people have been rushed to hospital, with four in a critical condition, while others were treated at the scene for hypothermia.

"The boat continued to Britain, with around 46 people on board."

The spokesman said the search was continuing, and there were fears the death toll could rise.

Prosecutors in nearby Boulogne-sur-mer meanwhile opened an enquiry into "manslaughter by persons unknown", as judicial police tried to find those who had provided the boats.

CHANNEL CHAOS

It comes after hundreds of people crossed the Channel on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and December 27.

More than 150,000 people have made the dangerous crossing from France since records began in 2018.

This year alone, 35,898 people have crossed the Channel, up 22 per cent on the same period last year.

The crisis has been building steadily since then, when just 299 asylum seekers were detected.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has promised tougher action against the smuggling gangs.

She said: "In 2025, we will bring forward new legislation to give law enforcement tougher powers to investigate, prosecute and disrupt organised immigration crime.

"The criminals breaching our border security need to know they will face the full force of both the UK and international law enforcement and justice systems."

Cooper said that next year, biometric kits and body-worn cameras will be introduced to quickly identify those with no right to be or work in the UK.

She added: "This is all part of this Government’s Plan for Change to strengthen our borders and fix the foundations of a broken immigration system, while also putting more money in people’s pockets and making the NHS fit for the future."