Body of young migrant found on French beach as crossings to UK rise

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PARIS (AP) — French authorities announced the discovery Sunday of a body on a beach used as one of the launch points for migrants attempting the perilous sea crossing from northern France to the U.K on flimsy inflatable boats.

The prefecture of northern France’s Pas-de-Calais region said the body of a young man, “very likely” a migrant who had attempted the crossing overnight, was found Sunday morning on the long sandy beaches south of the port town of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Attempted crossings and deaths have surged in recent days. The prefecture previously reported that two women died Saturday during a separate attempt to cross the English Channel.

In less than 48 hours since Friday night, authorities counted 41 crossing attempts, some of them thwarted, along the Pas-de-Calais coastline that police patrol day and night, the prefecture said in a statement.

“The pressure along the coast is intense with extremely high numbers of departures. Law enforcement is intervening under particularly difficult conditions, marked by hostility and sometimes violence from migrants determined to leave at all costs,” the statement said.

But French police have previously also been observed using knives to slash and sink the inflatable boats of migrants who put up little or no resistance.

The two women who died Saturday morning were found in cardiac arrest following a failed attempt to cross the English Channel on a boat that drifted after its engine wouldn't start, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said. It said that rescuers' efforts to revive them were unsuccessful.

Britain's government is under heavy pressure to tackle the growing number of migrants — many of them from Africa and the Middle East seeking a better life in Europe — embarking on the dangerous journey to the U.K. Unauthorized migration has been a problem for some years but has risen to the top of the political agenda in recent months.

More than 32,000 people have arrived in the U.K. by boat so far this year, figures show, and the full-year number is expected to surpass last year’s 37,000. Dozens have died in recent years trying to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes in overcrowded dinghies.

Britain's government hopes that a deal with French officials, which aims to deport migrants who enter the country without authorization to France, will reduce the crossings.