At least four people have died trying to cross the English Channel from France to Britain, according to information from the French coastguard. Their inflatable boat capsized off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France at around 4:30 am (02:30 GMT), a coast guard spokesman said.
Sixty-three people were rescued in an operation involving Navy ships, a fishing boat and a Navy helicopter, said "Al. Jazira".
They were taken back to Boulogne-sur-Mer and examined by emergency services. They are provided with temporary shelter.
The prefecture in charge of northern France said a French navy patrol boat spotted the overcrowded vessel early Friday. Many people were in the water, the statement said.
Thousands of people arrive in Britain each year on small boats, which are usually inflatable.
New UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government announced plans this week to deal with the influx of small boats crossing the dangerous waters from France, after canceling the former Conservative government's Rwanda deportation plan.
The plan, pushed by then prime minister Rishi Sunak, was designed to discourage migrants and asylum seekers from arriving in the UK in small boats from France. Under the controversial policy, migrants will be deported to Rwanda to process their asylum claims.
On Friday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said “criminal gangs make huge profits from putting lives at risk”. “We are accelerating action with international partners to pursue & break up dangerous smuggling gangs,” she wrote on the social network X.