Twelve migrants have died in a shipwreck off the coast of France as their vessel was trying to cross the English Channel, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday.
“A terrible shipwreck in [the department of] Pas-de-Calais. Per the preliminary information, 12 people are dead, two are missing and several are injured. All state services are mobilized to search the missing people and help the victims,” Darmanin said on X.
The majority of victims are women, he added later in the day.
The boat, which sank this morning, was less than seven meters (23 feet) and was carrying 70 people, Darmanin said.
