LONDON -- One person died and dozens of others were rescued from a boat carrying migrants that began sinking Saturday while trying to cross the English Channel, French authorities said.

About 50 people were rescued and six were in serious condition, France’s Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said.

Several British and French ships were involved in the early morning search and rescue effort after a patrol boat reported that a migrant boat was sinking off Sangatte.

One person who was flown by helicopter to a Calais hospital was later pronounced dead.

The Boulogne prosecutor’s office is investigating.