A pregnant woman and six children were among 12 people who died after their boat sank trying to cross the English Channel.

The French coastguard confirmed the deaths after up to 65 people were rescued off the coast of Cap Gris-Nez in France on Tuesday.

The local prosecutor’s office said 10 females and two males were killed in the incident, according to the BBC.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X that dozens of people had been crammed in a boat less than seven metres long.

“I came to Boulogne-sur-Mer to meet and thank the emergency services, the police and the sailors who were able to save 51 people from drowning by intervening very quickly and very courageously,” he said.

Mr Darmanin described it as a “terrible shipwreck”, adding: “The provisional toll stands at 12 dead, two missing and several injured.

“All government services are mobilised to find the missing and take care of the victims.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper branded the incident “horrifying and deeply tragic” as she said “vital” efforts to dismantle “dangerous and criminal smuggler gangs” and to boost border security “must proceed apace”.

Several people needed emergency treatment and a temporary medical post has been set up at the port at Boulogne-sur-Mer, about 28 miles south west of Calais.

Mr Darmanin said most of the people on the boat were believed to have been from Eritrea, and most of the victims were women.

Speaking to reporters at Boulogne-sur-Mer, he said as many as 75 people could be put on boats ahead of a crossing attempt.

“These boats go down very, very quickly; this is the reason why a lot of people get killed on these journeys,” he said, according to a BBC News translation.

Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Le Portel near Boulogne-sur-Mer, earlier closed the beach to allow helicopters to land after he said the bottom of the boat “ripped open”.

Dover’s Labour MP Mike Tapp posted on social media site X: “I'm saddened to hear of more reported deaths in the Channel. My thoughts are with all those affected.

“These evil smuggling gangs are killing people in our seas and will not be left to commit these crimes.”

According to the French coastguard, all of the people on board the dinghy ended up in the water, many of whom were not wearing life jackets, and several of the migrants needed emergency medical care.

Ms Cooper said she was in touch with Mr Darmanin and was being kept updated on the situation, adding: “Our hearts go out to the loved ones of all those who have lost their lives, and all those who have been seriously injured.”

The latest casualties mean more than 30 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year.

Before Tuesday, the French coastguard had recorded at least 19 Channel crossing deaths in 2024, including nine since the start of July.

Last year, 12 asylum seekers were thought to have died or were recorded as missing.

The International Organisation for Migration, which records Channel crossing deaths as part of its Missing Migrant Project, estimates 226 people, including 35 children, are missing or have died after attempting the crossing as of January this year.

Ministers have raised fears about people smugglers cramming more and more migrants onto increasingly poor boats to risk the crossing.

Last month in its annual assessment of crime threats to Britain, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said the dangerous journeys were a “persistent and high-volume threat”.

It added the number of people attempting the crossing – coupled with people-smuggler tactics which see migrants “wading out to boats or transferring from taxi boats” – had “increased the likelihood of fatalities”.

The incident occurred as more asylum seekers arrived in the UK after making the journey, and the number of Channel crossings reached the highest seven-day total for the year so far.

Pictures showed men, women and children being brought ashore in Dover, Kent, by lifeboats and Border Force on Tuesday.