FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Six people have lost their lives after a boat with migrants sank in the English Channel.
A spokeswoman from the French coastal authority Premar said another five to 10 people were missing, AFP reports.
British and French coastguards rescued about 50 people from the ship, authorities said.
In the early hours of Saturday, a passing vessel first raised the alarm that an overloaded boat was in difficulty off the coast of Sangatte, near Calais.
When the French rescue ship arrived, they found many people at sea. The rescue ship Dover, which was already in the Channel dealing with another boat carrying migrants, joined the rescue operation.
A volunteer who was on one of the lifeboats told the Reuters news agency that the migrants were using shoes to get the water out of the sinking ship.
Anne Thorel said there were "many" people on the boat.
A French prosecutor told the AFP news agency that the first of the victims was an Afghan man aged 25-30.
Rescuers say this is the seventh time this week they have had to pull people from the water.
The English Channel is one of the most dangerous and busiest shipping lanes in the world, with 600 tankers and 200 ferries passing through every day.
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said the incident highlighted the need for joint patrols on the French coast.
"These overcrowded and impenetrable death traps should definitely be stopped by the French authorities from leaving French shores in the first place," she said.
As of August 10, 15,826 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, government figures show.
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