1 dead, 1 hospitalized after migrant boat crossing Channel deflates trying to reach Britain

PARIS (AP) — French maritime authorities say they rescued more than 60 migrants attempting to cross the English Channel overnight Friday but that one of them died.

Another person was rescued in critical condition and flown by helicopter to a hospital in the French port of Calais, maritime authorities said in a statement.

The person who died was unconscious when they were picked up and couldn’t be revived, the statement said.

It said the boat carrying the migrants had partially deflated and that some of those aboard had fallen into the sea.

Rescue vessels picked up 66 people in all, including the person who died.

The French coast around Calais has long been a jumping-off point for people fleeing conflict and poverty around the world seeking to reach Britain, often via dangerous and sometimes deadly sea journeys across one of the world’s busiest shipping channels.

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