Migrant boat capsizes in Channel, woman dies after being trampled on overloaded dinghy

On September 9, 2025, a small inflatable dinghy carrying 74 migrants set out from France toward the English Channel. The 7.8-metre craft was badly damaged, flooded and leaking petrol, forcing passengers to bail water with plastic bottles and refuel the engine repeatedly. Border Force vessel BF Volunteer reached the scene at 10:57 am and deployed a rescue line, prompting a frantic rush toward safety that caused the already fragile boat to collapse and plunge several occupants into the sea.

Among them, 36-year-old Indian national Manpreet Kaur was trampled and forced to the bottom of the vessel, where she stayed submerged until she was retrieved at about 11:37 am after RNLI assistance. The Maritime Accident Investigation Branch concluded the dinghy was wholly unsuitable for the crossing, highlighting poor construction, severe overcrowding and unsafe fuel arrangements, and recommended that Border Force revise training and equipment for rescuing unconscious casualties from collapsing small boats.