One person died when a boat overloaded with migrants broke up during an attempted overnight crossing of the English Channel, the 12th migrant killed so far this year in the treacherous waterway between France and Britain, The Associated Press said.
French and British rescue services together picked up 61 people alive overnight Monday who were pitched into the sea off the Pas de Calais coast in northern France, among them a woman and her child who required hospital treatment for hypothermia in the French port of Boulogne, French maritime authorities said in a statement.
A French Navy helicopter also spotted a body in the water that was picked up by a British lifeboat — the 12th person killed while attempting the crossing this year, according to the French maritime authorities' count.
French maritime authorities said they sent out an emergency message for assistance when the boat sank, prompting British boats and an aircraft to join the rescue operation with French vessels and the French helicopter carrying a medical team.
