Teenage girl and woman die off French coast as small boat carrying more than 80 migrants ‘runs aground’ while trying to reach Britain

A young girl and woman lost their lives when a small boat carrying more than 80 migrants ran aground off the coast of France while trying to reach Britain.

The couple, aged 16 and 29, died on Sunday on a beach near Neufchatel-Hardelot, south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, regional government official Christophe Marx said.

Emergency service workers made the terrifying discovery early this morning.

There were immediate fears that the deceased, who was among 82 people on the full boat and was believed to be of Sudanese origin, was crushed to death.

The inflatable boat’s engine exploded, forcing those on board to huddle together as they sailed away from a raging fire around 03:00.

Marx, from Pas de Calais province, said: ‘They were on a small boat carrying about eighty-two people.

‘The boat ran aground on the beach and the victims were found dead inside the boat.’

An Iranian survivor said: ‘There was something wrong with the engine and it caught fire. This forced everyone to rally back.’

Two women died when a small boat carrying more than 80 migrants ran aground off the coast of France while trying to reach Britain (file photo)

French Gendarmerie monitors migrants on a smuggler boat trying to cross the English Channel off the coast of Hardelot in Neufchatel-Hardelot, northern France, on August 13, 2025.

Paulette Juilien-Peuvion, Mayor of Neufchatel-Hardelot, said: ‘One of the victims was only sixteen years old, the second was not yet thirty.

‘One man on the boat suffered serious burns and was transported to hospital by emergency vehicle, while five others were in a critical condition.’

Seventeen people were rescued at sea and taken to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Marx stated that the boat with 65 people on board eventually ran aground on the beach, adding that the victims were found ‘dead inside the boat’.

13 people with minor injuries and three people with serious injuries, including burn victims, were hospitalized.

“They were being treated and will be interrogated by the border police to determine who is responsible for this crossing,” Marx added.

He said the investigation would confirm the nationalities of the victims. While local prosecutors opened a criminal investigation, anyone involved in the disaster could not immediately be identified.

A second small boat was rescued by the ship Minck, chartered by the French Navy, and the 17 people on board were taken to safety.

Last month, four people died while trying to board an inflatable boat near Equihen-Plage.

Everyone had gone into the sea to reach the so-called ‘taxi boat’ located offshore.

Two more people lost their lives in similar conditions a few days ago, after French authorities reported that the number of people trying to cross the English Channel had increased due to the improvement in weather conditions.

They had all paid people smugglers to board an overcrowded boat on one of the world’s most dangerous migrant routes.

More than 5,000 people have successfully crossed the Channel this year, following more than 41,000 crossings in 2025, according to UK and French government figures.

This comes despite Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood announcing a raft of new measures designed to curb illegal immigration.

Last week it signed a three-year agreement with France that would see more French riot police deployed on beaches.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the agreement will see hundreds of immigrants ‘removed from French shores’ every year and deported to their own countries or to other EU countries they pass through.

Approximately £501 million will be spent to increase control measures on beaches.

This year, at least eight people have died on small boats trying to make the risky journey across the English Channel to the UK’s southern coast.

At least 29 migrants died on boats last year.

The number of arrivals to the UK so far this year has fallen significantly compared to 2025, according to French officials.

Last month the total number of small boat migrants reached 6,000.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said at the time: ‘This is another day of shame for this weak Prime Minister and Home Secretary.

‘They have no control over our borders.

‘Illegal Channel crossings have increased by 45 percent since the general election.

‘Labour’s claims of breaking up gangs are in tatters.’

He added: ‘We urgently need to leave the ECHR, which will allow us to deport these illegal immigrants within a week of their arrival. Then the transitions will soon stop.

‘That’s the Conservatives’ plan, but Shabana Mahmood and Keir Starmer are too weak to do it.’

The previous multi-year agreement signed with Emmanuel Macron’s government in 2023 expired at the end of March.

The £478m package was also expected to pay for a new detention center in France, which has not yet opened.

In new negotiations Labor wants performance-related payments; These payments will be made gradually according to the number of immigrants prevented from leaving the French coast.

A separate ‘one in, one out’ scheme launched by Labor last year to allow small boat migrants to be sent back to France has seen 377 people removed so far, but 380 people have been brought back to the UK under the reciprocal terms of the deal.

The scheme is scheduled to end next month.

In a further sign that Labour’s small craft policies are in disarray, the head of the UK’s border security command resigned at the end of March after failing to stop a surge in crossings.

Shortly after becoming Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer appointed Martin Hewitt, a former senior police officer, to task him with limiting numbers crossing the Channel.

But passes have continued at very high levels during his 18 months in office, with last year witnessing the second-highest annual total in history.