Eight perish after Channel crossing attempt

PARIS, Sept 15 (BBC): Eight people have died overnight while trying to cross the Channel from France to England, French police say.

Rescue services were alerted after the boat got into difficulty in waters north of Boulogne-sur-mer in the northern Pas-de-Calais region after 01:00 local time (00:00 BST).

The rubber vessel had around 50 people on board and started to sink not long after leaving the coast.

It comes less than two weeks after 12 people, including six children and a pregnant woman, died when a boat carrying dozens of migrants sank in what was the deadliest loss of life in the Channel this year.

The French coast guard said the boat was seen heading towards a beach in the town of Ambleteuse but rescue teams could not offer assistance from the sea.

On the beach, emergency services provided care to 53 people and confirmed eight had died, the coast guard said. No other people were found during sea searches.

An investigation has been opened by the Boulogne-sur-mer public prosecutor's office.

A UK government spokesperson confirmed the latest incident and said French authorities were leading the response and investigation.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was "awful" to hear of a "further loss of life" in the Channel.

He told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that many people were "of course not able to make it" across the Channel, having seen the types of rubber dinghies people have been using.

He also reiterated the government's plan to work with European partners to tackle the criminal people-smuggling gangs to deter small boat crossings.