LILLE, France, Jan 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A young Syrian migrant perished while trying to cross the Channel to Britain, French authorities said on Saturday, adding he was probably crushed to death in a leaking dinghy.

It was the first reported death at sea of a migrant seeking to travel to Britain from France so far this year.

"Last night, 30 migrants tried to get into the water on the beach at Sangatte," on the northern coast of France, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture told AFP.

The prefecture said that "a few minutes later" the group disembarked from the leaking dinghy. On the floor of the boat, a Syrian man in his twenties was found, the prefecture said, adding that he had suffered cardiac arrest. 

He had "probably" been crushed to death, officials said.

"This was the first death at sea in 2025," the prefecture said.

According to the prefecture, 77 people died trying to reach Britain in flimsy inflatable boats last year, making it the deadliest year for migrants who are taking ever greater risks to evade Britain's border control.

Associations providing help to migrants recorded 89 fatalities last year. The count includes migrants who died at sea and on the coast of northern France.

According to the prefecture, two people have been arrested as part of an investigation opened by the Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor's office.

Due to unfavourable weather conditions, only 61 migrants arrived in the UK on small boats between 1 and 10 January, according to British authorities. 

More than 36,800 people were detected crossing the Channel last year, a 25 percent increase from the 29,437 who arrived in 2023, according to provisional figures from the interior ministry.

Immigration, both irregular and regular, was a major issue in the UK's July general election, which brought Labour to power but also saw a breakthrough for Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform UK party.

According to Downing Street, illegal migration was one of the issues discussed by French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer last Thursday.