Representative image of migrants trying to cross the English Channel.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
London: At least five illegal migrants were killed in French waters early on Sunday when their boat overturned while trying to cross the English Channel, authorities said.
Around 70 people were trying to board a small boat attempting to launch near Wimereux beach, Pas-de-Calais, when it overturned, French media reports said.
The migrants got into trouble almost immediately after the boat departed the French coast for England at around 02:00 local time (01:00 GMT), the French Maritime Prefecture said.
A tugboat patrolling the coast attended the scene and found the five bodies.
Dozens of people were pulled from the water during overnight rescue efforts in Wimereux, south of Calais. The five deaths were confirmed by the French Coast Guard, according to the BBC.
Local authorities said that four of the dead were from Iraq and Syria.
A spokesperson from the French Maritime Prefecture told the BBC that 32 people had been rescued, and one person, in critical condition, was transferred to a hospital in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Another person received treatment at the scene for severe hypothermia, the spokesperson said.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called the incident 'heartbreaking'.
According to media reports, he told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, "It's heartbreaking when these things happen, and the loss of life that takes place. And you can only think about what an appalling end it would be, and the cold waters of the Channel in the middle of the night; it breaks my heart to hear about it."
The migrants were trying to board the vessel as it left the beach and found themselves in difficulty at sea, the French Maritime Prefecture said.