Overview

• French authorities said an overloaded boat left Neufchâtel‑Hardelot around 3:15 a.m. Saturday and drifted back about an hour later after the engine failed.
• Roughly 60 people were taken into care, with a couple and their child hospitalized in Boulogne‑sur‑Mer for mild hypothermia as others dispersed before rescuers arrived.
• The Boulogne‑sur‑Mer prosecutor, Cécile Gressier, confirmed the two victims were adult Somali women and announced a judicial inquiry into the deaths.
• A separate body was recovered Saturday morning from a canal at Gravelines, bringing this year’s Channel death toll to at least 26 by an AFP tally based on official data.
• Officials report record arrivals to the U.K. this year, about 32,000 since January, with favorable weather increasing attempts even as police block departures and embarkations shift offshore under surveillance.