A suspected asylum seeker flown to hospital after a massive rescue has died.

The victim had been on a small boat with dozens of others on the English Channel when it began to sink.

An air and sea mercy operation had been launched by the French and Belgians.

But Agence France-Presse reported this afternoon: "A migrant, rescued after the sinking of a boat died in the hospital where he had been transferred by helicopter."

The vessel, with an estimated 30 to 40 people, had been heading for the UK when it started taking in water this morning.

Searches had started at around 10am after a cargo ship reported that a boat was in difficulty, with some people overboard, off the coast of Dunkirk.

An unconscious person taken aboard the cargo ship’s lifeboat and transferred on to a French Navy vessel was later airlifted to hospital in Calais.

He was believed to have suffered cardio-respiratory arrest and was evacuated aboard a Belgian Air Force helicopter, French authorities say.

Several others were also hoisted aboard the helicopter as the boat was sinking, while more were rescued by nearby fishing boats.

They were all transferred on to the French Navy’s Flamant patrol boat, which headed for the port of Dunkirk.

Details first came come from France's Channel and North Sea maritime authority Préfecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord.

Following days of bad weather in the Dover Strait, lighter conditions today have seen a flurry of crossing attempts.

About a dozen were seen in one small vessel today heading for Ramsgate.

The latest bids to reach the UK come after French authorities intercepted at least 108 people trying to cross the Channel yesterday, with one person having to be airlifted to hospital in Dunkirk.

On Wednesday last week almost 500 reached the UK from France, a record for one day.

The dangerous sea journey from France, made by more than 10,000 people including children so far in 2021, has claimed many lives in the past.

Among them were Rasoul Iran-Nejad and his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, who died along with their three children when their boat capsized on October 27 lasr year.

Their 15-month-old son Artin was reported missing following the tragedy and it was not until June this year that police confirmed a body found on the Norwegian coast was that of the young boy.

Data compiled by the PA news agency shows the tally for successful crossings this year now stands at more than 10,700 people, despite the dangers involved in the journey.

Crossings in 2021 eclipsed last year’s annual total of 8,417 in July, PA data shows.

Read more: All the latest news from Dover