Eight people lost their lives early Sunday in the English Channel as they tried to reach England from France, French authorities said, in the second such tragedy in the span of less than two weeks.
The French police said that the victims’ vessel, which had more than 50 people on board when it set off from Wimereux in Pas-de-Calais, northern France, started to sink almost immediately after departure.
The French coast guard said assistance was offered to 53 people, while eight had already died. The victims were all adult men from Eritrea, Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt and Iran, it said.
