At least 12 people have died after a boat capsized in the English Channel.
The French coastguard confirmed the deaths after up to 65 people were rescued off the coast of Cap Gris-Nez.
Most of those who died were from Africa, particularly Eritrea, a local French official said, as a government minister called for a migration treaty with the UK following the tragedy.
UK 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".
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin described it as a "terrible shipwreck", adding in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "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."
Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Le Portel near Boulogne-sur-Mer where the casualties are being treated, said that the bottom of the boat "ripped open".
All of the people on board the dinghy ended up in the water, with several of the migrants needing emergency medical care, according to the French coastguard.
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 today, the French coastguard had recorded at least 19 Channel crossing deaths in 2024, including nine since the start of July.
Last year, 12 migrants are 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.
Charities and campaigners reiterated calls for urgent changes to curb Channel crossings as they lamented the latest loss of life at sea.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said the number of deaths in the Channel this year had been "shockingly high" and the "devastating trend shows the urgent need for a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to reduce dangerous crossings".
"Enforcement alone is not the solution," he added, as he called on the Government to open up more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers.
The British Red Cross said: "Nobody risks their life travelling across the English Channel in a small boat unless they feel they have no other choice."
The incident comes as more migrants 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 UK Border Force.
Boat capsizes off Libya
A boat carrying migrants trying to reach Europe has capsized off the Libyan coast, leaving one person dead and 22 missing, Libyan authorities said.
The coast guard in the eastern Libyan town of Tobruk said that the boat was carrying 32 migrants and that nine have been rescued and are en route to the town.
The shipwreck was the latest sea tragedy off the North African nation, which has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
In December, at least 61 migrants, including women and children, drowned off the town of Zuwara on Libya's western coast.
