Two migrants have died after a dinghy crammed with nearly 50 people sank off the French coast.

A rescue operation was launched after the dinghy carrying 48 migrants got into trouble at around 8am on Wednesday as it attempted to cross the English Channel.

French authorities said two of the migrants died, bringing the total number of deaths this year to 55, compared with just 12 last year. The remaining 46 people were rescued and brought ashore.

Cross-Channel ferries had to be halted during the rescue operation close to Calais involving the French government’s Minck vessel, an all-weather boat, French navy helicopter and medical team.

A port of Calais spokesman said: “Cross-Channel traffic is currently interrupted due to operations to rescue people who have fallen into the water in the Channel.”

It comes after a four-month-old baby died after an overloaded boat with more than 60 migrants on board sank off the coast of France last Thursday.

This followed the deaths of six children and six adults on Sept 3. A month later, a two-year-old boy and three adults died when their overloaded boats got into trouble.

On Oct 5, a two-year-old boy was crushed to death when a boat carrying nearly 90 people got into difficulties after its outboard engine failed.

A total of 28,204 migrants have been intercepted by Border Force making the crossing so far this year – five per cent higher than the 26,116 at the same point last year but below the 37,000 in 2022, the record year for crossings.