Four migrants drowned in the Channel overnight off Boulogne sur Mer on France's northern coast while trying to cross to Britain, French maritime police said Friday, July 12.

A navy patrol boat went to the site after being alerted that several migrants had fallen into the sea while trying to cross the Channel, maritime police told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Four people winched out of the water by helicopter were dead but others were rescued alive, the police added.

This takes to 19 the number of people who have died this year trying to cross over to Britain from France on often overloaded boats.

Five migrants died on April 23 off the French coast while trying to make the perilous journey.