Three migrants, including two children, are believed to have died crossing the English Channel in the night.

French officials say the incident, which took place off the coast of Pas-de-Calais, unfolded overnight on Tuesday.

The region’s prosecutor, Laurent Touvet, told a press conference in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Wednesday that those who died were "likely crushed at the bottom of the boat".

A separate incident nearby has also left three people missing, while a third boat also got into difficulty.

The prosecutor’s office then wrote on X: “Smuggler networks bear the responsibility for these tragedies. The State is determined to combat them.”

They thanked police, firefighters, civil protection volunteers, and sea rescue services for scrambling to aid the boats.

It comes a day after a woma

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