Migrants perish in doomed Channel trip

Five asylum seekers have died and a sixth is in a critical condition after trying to reach Britain from France in freezing winter temperatures.

More than 30 people were rescued, the maritime prefecture said in a statement. Authorities said four died overnight, while a fifth body was found later on the beach.

The group was attempting to reach a vessel off the resort town of Wimereux when their small boat tipped over in the swell as it was being launched early on Sunday morning.

The victims were thought to be young men of Syrian origin. The crew of a French tow vessel went to the rescue and spotted “unconscious and lifeless people” in the water, an official said, estimating the water temperature at 9C.

According to the maritime prefecture, more than 30 people were rescued, but one person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had said around 70 migrants were brought in at around 3.00am, including “entire families with children, some of them very young”.

“Some of the survivors did not stay and told us they wanted to go to the Dunkirk train station to reach an accommodation centre in Armentieres,” the source added.

Authorities launched an investigation into “aggravated manslaughter” and other crimes, the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor’s office said.

Autopsies would determine the cause of death, which may be due to “drowning” or “thermal shock”, prosecutors said.

Local maritime authority Premar said that more than 100 people had tried to cross the English Channel since Saturday night, and more than 60 of them had been rescued in freezing temperatures.