Channel crossing: One person dead, another critical, says French coastguard

One person has died and another is in a critical condition after a boat carrying migrants got into difficulty in the Channel.

There were 66 people on board the boat, which got into trouble about 8km (5 miles) from the French coast, according to the French coastguard.

The survivors have been taken to Calais, where the injured person is being treated in hospital.

Searches are continuing by air and sea, the coastguard said.

French officials said they reached the boat at 01:00 local time (00:00 GMT), finding that one of the boat's tubes was deflated and there were people in the water.

One person who was unconscious was taken to Calais Hospital by helicopter, while the rest were brought to land by several rescue boats.

The rescue occurred a few miles off the French coast near Grand-Fort Philippe, 20km east of Calais.

It was the first attempted crossing for 11 days due to windy weather in the Channel.

But 730 people made the journey in the first three days of December when the sea was calm.

So far this year more than 29,000 people have reached the UK in small boats - though this represents a fall of around a third on the same period last year.

The UK government has said that "stopping the boats" crossing the English Channel is a key political priority.

As part of this, it is pushing ahead with a plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, despite the Supreme Court ruling that the policy is unlawful.