Two migrants have died while attempting to cross the English Channel from France to Britain, with two others hospitalised after suffering serious burns, French authorities said on Monday.
The incident occurred late Sunday off Berck, a coastal town in northern France, during another attempt by migrants to reach the United Kingdom.
According to French officials, two women sustained extensive burns and were taken to hospital. Their injuries were said to be serious but not life-threatening.
French regional newspaper, La Voix du Nord, reported that the burns were likely caused by a chemical reaction after petrol from the migrants’ boat came into contact with seawater.
The newspaper reported that the vessel had about 120 people on board when it departed on Sunday night, while approximately 20 others were left in the water after they could not get onto the boat.
Rescuers later recovered two men who were in cardiac arrest, as well as two Somali women aged 20 and 26 who had suffered injuries.
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French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the deaths.
The latest incident comes just days after three migrants, including a 10-year-old child, died in a separate attempt to cross the Channel.
At least 24 migrants have now died along the Franco-British maritime border since the beginning of the year, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
France has remained a major departure point for migrants and asylum seekers seeking to enter Britain without the required visas.
Many pay smugglers thousands of dollars to travel in small, overcrowded and often unsafe inflatable boats across the Channel, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes.