More migrant deaths

THE Government has blamed the deaths of three migrants in the English Channel on "ruthless criminals" trying to overload "unseaworthy" boats.

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French authorities confirmed the three deaths yesterday, following an incident off the French coast at Sangatte, near Calais, in which 45 people were rescued after struggling to board a small boat bound for the UK. Four other people were taken to hospital with hypothermia.

The fatalities were the first deaths in the Channel since October, and took the total number of people who have died attempting the crossing this year to at least 53.