A woman has died after a small boat suffered what authorities described as a "catastrophic deflation" while attempting to cross the English Channel, officials said.
The incident occurred about 10 miles off the coast of Dover at around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Kent Police said the UK Coastguard notified officers just after 1 p.m.; a woman was airlifted back to shore where she was pronounced dead. Officers are conducting enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
HM Coastguard, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Border Force at first reported small-boat activity in the Channel and deployed multiple assets in response. The rescue operation involved a Border Force vessel, two RNLI lifeboats and a coastguard helicopter. Officials said a mayday call was issued to other shipping in the area during the response.
A government spokesperson said one passenger was found unresponsive and given CPR but later died. "We are shocked and saddened by this tragic incident. Our immediate thoughts are with all of those who have been affected," the spokesperson added, describing the crossings as "terrible" and warning that criminal smugglers often exploit vulnerable people.
A Border Force vessel arrived in the Port of Dover just after 3 p.m. carrying people thought to have been rescued during the operation. Photographs from the port showed children and adults leaving the vessel wearing orange life vests and being met by officials.
There is no single, official UK record of the number of people who have died while attempting Channel crossings. The French coastguard reported about 50 deaths during crossings last year, which it described as the deadliest year since the crisis intensified. The International Organisation for Migration has also reported additional migrant deaths believed to be linked to crossing attempts in 2024.
The incident comes amid a marked rise in small-boat arrivals to the UK. Authorities said more than 1,000 people arrived by small boat over the previous weekend, taking the total so far this year to more than 30,000. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who took office recently, called the crossings "utterly unacceptable" and said she would "go up a gear" to stop arrivals.
Government officials have said they will pursue a range of measures, including transferring asylum seekers from hotels to military barracks and reviewing human rights law to make it easier to refuse or remove asylum claims in some circumstances. Ms Mahmood said a deal with France to return people crossing illegally would begin soon and that she expected the first returns to take place "imminently."
The coastguard and police said enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the dinghy’s deflation and the sequence of events leading to the rescue and subsequent fatality. Local authorities and Border Force are continuing to process and provide welfare support to those brought ashore.
The crossing of the Channel by small, often overloaded boats has been a persistent safety concern for ministers, rescuers and humanitarian organisations, who warn of the high risks to life posed by long, open-water journeys in poor conditions. The government said it would continue operations to disrupt people-smuggling networks and called for international co-operation to manage and reduce dangerous crossings.