REUTERS The operation to rescue migrants was launched off the French coast at Berck-sur-Mer
A man has drowned and 30 other people were rescued by French coastguard services after they tried to cross the English Channel to the UK.
French officials are reporting that a Sudanese man in his twenties fell overboard close to the French coast at Berck-sur-Mer, south of Boulogne.
Five people were picked up from a sandbank, but most were rescued from onboard a dinghy.
Local media said the alarm was raised when someone on land spotted the boat getting into difficulty in freezing temperatures, possibly when they were trapped by the tide. Some of those rescued were suffering from hypothermia, according to officials.
Last year 27 people, including an expectant mother, drowned in the English Channel. Last year 1,552 smugglers were arrested in northern France and 44 smuggler networks dismantled. Yet, there were 47,000 attempted Channel crossings to the UK this year and 7,800 migrants rescued.
