Helicopters and boats have been used in the search for survivors after the vessel got into difficulties on Tuesday morning.
At least 12 people have died – including 10 women and girls – after a boat with dozens of migrants tore apart in the English Channel, a local mayor has said.
Olivier Barbarin, mayor of Le Portel, a French coastal town being used in a rescue operation, said “the bottom of the boat ripped open”.
The French coastguard said more than 65 people had been rescued after a vessel got into difficulties on Tuesday morning.
Local authorities said several people needed emergency treatment and a temporary medical post has been set up at the port at Boulogne-sur-Mer, about 28 miles (45km) southwest of Calais.
France’s Interior minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters that 12 people had died – and 10 of those were women and girls.
A spokesperson for the French maritime prefecture said helicopters and boats have been used in the search for survivors.
