A seven-year-old girl has died after a small boat capsized while attempting to cross the English Channel.

The boat was reportedly carrying 16 migrants when it sank a few kilometres off the coast of Dunkirk in France.

A statement from the local government department Préfet du Nord said the boat was “not appropriately sized” to carry so many people on board, according to reports.

The French authority added the girl's parents who were travelling with three more children were taken to a hospital in Dunkirk.

Two men and six young children were also reportedly taken to hospital, but their condition is not life-threatening.

The local authority said police and firefighters were alerted to the capsized boat by a walker, and officials believed the vessel was "probably stolen".

In a statement, it said: "A couple, whose origin is being determined, with their four children, including the mother who is pregnant, were on board.

"The couple's little daughter, aged 7, died from drowning."