The bottom of the boat ripped open,” according to Olivier Barbarin, the mayor of Le Portel, a seaside town in France that is being utilized in a rescue attempt.
More than 65 people have been rescued, according to the French coastguard, after a vessel encountered problems early on Tuesday.
At the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, around 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Calais, a temporary medical station has been established after local officials reported that multiple persons need emergency treatment.
Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, informed reporters that ten of the twelve fatalities were females.
Out of the seventy individuals aboard the boat, he added, just eight were wearing life jackets.
Helicopters and boats have been utilized in the hunt for survivors, according to a representative for the French maritime prefecture.
At 11.30 a.m. (10.30 a.m. UK time), another media station, France 3, had initially reported that “at least 100 migrants” were on board.
Mr. Darmanin had earlier called the event on X “horrible” and stated that “all government resources [have] been mobilized to find the missing and care for the victims.”
