Two women, both Somalis, died Saturday while trying to cross the Channel to Britain, French authorities said, adding that the body of another migrant had been found in a canal.

Some 60 other migrants were rescued in the incident in which the two women died, when around 100 people got on to a makeshift boat south of the beaches of Neufchatel-Hardelot at around 3:15 am (0115 GMT) in a bid to get to the UK.

Their overloaded boat returned to shore an hour later, after its motor failed to start, the local prefecture said in a statement.

Civil protection workers took in 60 people for care, while others who had been on the boat ran away when rescuers turned up, said Isabelle Fradin-Thirode, an official in nearby Montreuil-sur-Mer.

A couple and their child suffering from moderate hypothermia w

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