A 10-year-old child and two 30-year-old women have died after a small boat that was attempting to cross the English Channel got into difficulty off the northern coast of France, French authorities say.

Authorities said they responded to a distress call from the boat, which was carrying 105 people, after it departed from Blériot Plage beach in Calais on Monday morning.

Three passengers were treated on board but were later confirmed dead by an emergency medical team flown out by helicopter, the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said.

Around 100 passengers were brought to the port of Calais afterwards, AFP news agency reported.

Thousands of migrants attempt the perilous journey from France to the UK every year. In doing so, they cross one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world.

More people attempt the route in the summer months when the weather is warmer and when seas are calmer.

Monday's deaths come after a series of other attempted crossings in recent days, with French authorities saying three other people died last week.

The UK also recorded the highest number of migrant arrivals so far this year on Wednesday - with a total of 781 arriving in 10 small boats, according to Home Office figures.

In July last year, France and the UK agreed on a "one in, one out" returns deal, which was designed as a deterrent to stop boats from crossing the Channel.

This proposes that for each migrant the UK returns to France, another migrant who had not attempted a Channel crossing but with a strong case for asylum in Britain will come the other way.

In August the UK government said it was making progress in tackling small boats, with the percentage who had made the journey in 2026 much lower than for the same period in 2025 but added it needed to "push further and harder in order to eradicate this vile trade".

As of last Thursday, 18,565 people had made the Channel crossing this year, which is 42% lower than the same period in 2025 when 32,188 had crossed in small boats.