A boat carrying 67 migrants overturned overnight off the shore of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, according to the French coastguard.
It further stated that four ships and a helicopter were involved in the mission to rescue the remaining sixty-three passengers.
A patrol boat, the Minck, reported at approximately 4.30 am local time that the migrant boat had partially deflated and that “several people were in the water,” according to the coast guard.
While “some were still clinging to the stern of their dislocated boat,” others were “drifting in the water” after being shipwrecked.
A rescue boat picked up about 49 individuals, while a fishing boat took the remaining 14.
The deceased were discovered unconscious; three were discovered “adrift,” while the fourth was discovered “on the wreck of the migrant boat.”
The coastguard reported that although a medical crew was winched onto a French navy warship from a helicopter to tend to the four victims, they were not able to undergo resuscitation.
It continued, saying that the shore rescue services in Boulogne took care of all the stranded crew after they were brought ashore.
