At least 12 people have drowned after a small boat carrying around 70 migrants capsized in the English Channel on Tuesday, just off the northern coast of France near Boulogne-sur-Mer, according to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Darmanin added a search and rescue mission was underway involving fire brigade and navy helicopters, several military vessels and two fishing boats.

Local authorities said that several other people had been rescued but remain in ”serious condition,” and warned that the death toll could yet rise. At least two people are still reported to be “missing.”

“Unfortunately, the bottom of the boat ripped open,” said Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel, a suburb of Boulogne-sur- Mer, where a first-aid post was set up to treat victims. Barbarin had earlier put the death toll at 13.

The boat had reportedly been attempting to cross from France to the United Kingdom when it was spotted in difficulty by a French vessel, the Minck, which had gone to its aid before it broke up, the Minck’s captain Etienne Baggio told the AFP news agency.

Sea temperatures in the area were around 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit).

“It’s a huge drama,” said Mayor Barbarin of what is the most deadly single incident in the English Channel involving migrants this year.

Some 25 people have already lost their lives attempting the crossing since January.

Barbarin said that the town’s out-of-use hoverport had been opened up for use by rescue helicopters.

According to the local Voix du Nord newspaper, Interior Minister Darmanin is expected in Boulogne-sur-Mer this afternoon.

“All government services have been mobilized to find the missing and take care of the victims,” Darmanin wrote on social media. “I am on my way to meet elected officials and the emergency services.”

Source: AFP, AP
--Agencies