A woman who was among 34 people rescued from an overcrowded migrant boat has died.
Around 75 people were aboard the 'very crowded' migrant boat off the coast of Calais as passengers on the inflatable dinghy called emergency services at around 5am this morning.
An emergency source told the Daily Mail: "She was nowhere near the water, but succumbed to being crushed by the amount of people around her.
"Migrants are drowning in the water, but the new phenomenon of people dying inside the boats is becoming very serious indeed."
An RNLI Lifeboat and a Border Force vessel with groups of people thought to be migrants onboard, wait to unload in Dover, Kent (file pic)
PA
A spokesperson from the French emergency services said: "Rescuers saw an unconscious woman on board. She was rapidly taken off and given first aid treatment, but she died on her way to hospital."
The Maritime Prefecture said the boat requested assistance off the coast of Calais. The patrol boat Armoise, of the Maritime Gendarmerie, and French Customs Coast Guard boat Kermorvan attended the scene at around 5.30am. The victim was airlifted to hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, but 'she was unfortunately declared dead'.
A spokesman said: "It was during the transfer of those who wanted to get off the boat that the rescue services noticed that there was an unconscious person on board
"Several people still on board the boat refused assistance. Given the risks of falling overboard or injury to people in the event of forced intervention, the decision was made to let the other people on this boat continue on their journey to England."
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Migrants crossing the Channel (file pic)
PAThe news marks the sixth asylum seeker to have died in the Channel between July 12 and 19 in three separate boat disasters.
On July 12, four migrants drowned overnight after being carried on a packed boat of 67 migrants off the coast of Boulonge sur Mer, also in northern France.
Those who died were not wearing lifejackets when they died which sparked a police investigation into the people smugglers who were charging around £1,000 per person.
Instead of life jackets, each was given a poorly inflated inner tube to hang on to in case of difficulty.
Senior Researcher at the Migration Observatory Dr Peter William Walsh, said: "There definitely seems to be a seasonal factor, with the second half the year typically having more arrivals than the first half.
"The weather is calmer with warmer temperatures and less swell, but even the causes of this seasonal effect are not totally clear."
