00:00 Authorities say at least six people died and dozens were rescued after a migrant boat trying
00:05 to cross the Channel from France capsized.
00:08 It happened early on Saturday.
00:10 A local mayor said a vast rescue operation was launched around 6am local time as dozens
00:16 of migrant boats tried to make the crossing at the same time.
00:20 Several of the bodies were found near the coastal town of Saint-Gat, he added.
00:24 The head of the local French National Sea Rescue Society is Jean-Pierre Fino.
00:28 "They were in trouble," he said.
00:32 "There was the problem of seasickness and then also the boats are quite simply overloaded."
00:37 Nearly 60 migrants were saved by French and UK rescue boats and brought to French or British
00:45 shores, a maritime prefecture said.
00:48 Search and rescue operations were still ongoing in the Channel between France and Britain
00:52 on Saturday afternoon.
00:54 It's one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong, making the crossing
00:58 on small boats dangerous.
01:00 More migrants were seen disembarking from a UK Border Force ship in Dover on Saturday
01:05 morning.
01:06 The British Coast Guard said all those on board and other small boats were rescued in
01:09 a separate incident on Saturday.
01:12 Human traffickers typically overload rickety dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at
01:16 risk of being lashed by the waves as they try to reach British shores.
01:20 UK government figures show that the number of migrant Channel crossings since the start
01:25 of 2018 passed 100,000 this week.
01:28 [END]
