With calm seas facilitating countless migrant crossing attempts, a tragic incident unfolded in the English Channel. One migrant lost his life near Pas-de-Calais, followed by the discovery of two bodies on a nearby beach.

• Three new migrant deaths in the English Channel, numerous crossing attempts

• With calm seas and countless crossing attempts, a migrant died at sea near a beach in Pas-de-Calais, followed by two bodies washed ashore on another nearby beach. The human toll continues to rise in the English Channel, where 32,000 migrants have attempted to cross this year.

• During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday and on Wednesday morning, many migrant boats set sail thanks to a favorable weather window for these dangerous crossings.

• In the early morning, a boat was reported to be in distress in the Hardelot area, as reported by the Maritime Prefecture of the English Channel and the North Sea (Premar).

• The regional operational rescue center then dispatched a boat and a navy helicopter to provide assistance. The helicopter crew spotted around fifteen people in the water, "close to the beach," and airlifted them to safety, according to Premar. Despite the rescue operation, one adult migrant died.

• In total, 61 people were rescued, according to fire commander Baptiste Gournay, who reported one person in "critical condition" and five in "serious condition," evacuated to the hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, in addition to the deceased man. He stated that the man was 28 years old.

• Commander Gournay mentioned another operation in Merlimont, a little further south, with three migrants in "critical condition."

• A few hours later, two migrant bodies were found at low tide on Equihen beach, close to Neufchâtel-Hardelot, according to a source familiar with the situation. The date of death of these two men is not yet known.

• "Severe hypothermia" -

• Significant rescue resources were deployed Wednesday morning on the seafront of Neufchâtel-Hardelot, where migrants were taken to building lobbies to warm up, as noted by AFP journalists.

• A punctured boat lies on the beach. The road is scattered with wet clothing. An African migrant, with a survival blanket wrapped around the waist and another over the head, walked to the end of the breakwater and gazed at the horizon, towards the invisible English coast.

• According to a member of the Utopia 56 association on site, several migrants were suffering from "severe hypothermia."

• A few hours after the tragedy, another crossing attempt took place near the site of the rescue efforts. On a beach between Neufchâtel-Hardelot and Equihen, about 70 migrants, including several children, waded into the water to board a boat that came to pick them up, using the "taxi-boat" system. Some wore life jackets, some simple buoys, and some had neither.

• The boat failed to start, and around 40 migrants returned to the beach. The boat eventually started and sailed away, carrying about thirty migrants.

• AFP witnessed two other departures at night from Sangatte.

• "The number that stands out for us in recent months is one person dying every five days" in these crossing attempts since the beginning of the year, said Utopia 56 coordinator Célestin Pichaud on the coast. "The situation is more than dramatic. The sea and land rescuers are overwhelmed by events." He denounces the "disastrous determination to continue repression."

• On Sunday morning, another migrant died after attempting to depart from Tardinghen beach.

• Drownings and deadly overcrowding on overloaded boats have made 2024 the deadliest year since the phenomenon of English Channel crossings on fragile vessels began in 2018.

• Last Wednesday, three migrants died in a shipwreck. The Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor had expressed early in the week a "persistent question" about this shipwreck, due to a discrepancy between the number of people rescued and some testimonies describing many passengers on board the boat.

• The previous week, an infant died in another shipwreck.

• Since the beginning of the year, according to Premar, 32,000 people have attempted the crossing, with over 5,600 being rescued and brought back to French shores.

•