Migrant, 36, drowned as she was crushed inside small boat while Border Force staff tried to rescue dozens from a sinking dinghy

A 36-year-old Indian woman drowned after she was trampled by other migrants onboard a sinking dinghy in the Channel.

Manpreet Kaur was killed when 73 people onboard the boat rushed to safety as it became submerged in water and fuel in the early hours of September 9 last year.

The Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) described the vessel as 'wholly unsuitable for the voyage' in a report published on Thursday.

The 7.8-metre boat was launched from a canal at Malo-les-Bains near Dunkirk in northern France in the early hours of the morning amid good weather conditions. 

Ms Kaur was among migrants who were later picked up from a beach further along the coastline after they waded into chest-deep water and were helped aboard.

French authorities intercepted the boat 30 minutes after it left the coast and 'shadowed' the dinghy 'for the remainder of its voyage towards UK territorial waters,' the report said.

As the journey continued the boat started to lose air and spill fuel, prompting the migrants onboard to try to bail out water using plastic bottles.

Several fights had already broken out onboard and by the time the boat entered UK waters just before 11am it was declared 'to be in distress' and Border Force was tasked to rescue those onboard.

Amid the panic, Ms Kaur was pushed to the bottom of the boat and crushed in knee-deep water, remaining submerged for a 'prolonged period' before she was found dead, with chemical burns from the concoction of sea water and petrol.

Ms Kaur had complained of feeling dizzy just before the incident, and investigators believe she was likely to have been weakened by exposure to petrol fumes.

'Many of the boat's occupants became cold, dehydrated and weak by the time of rescue; some temporarily lost full use of their legs,' the report said.

According to the findings, Ms Kaur 'was not identified promptly because the crew were managing a mass rescue from a rapidly deteriorating boat'.

The MAIB concluded the Border Force crew had not been trained in rescuing unconscious people from collapsing boats so Ms Kaur did not get help within a crucial ten-minute window of her first getting into difficulty, when she may have had the best chance of survival.

The report acknowledged the chance of her surviving was 'limited' even if she had been found sooner.

Investigators recommended Border Security Command review its training and procedures on how to respond to a similar situation.

The report said that the day after Ms Kaur died, Border Force responded to a similar incident where staff were able to save the life of a person who was unconscious during another Channel crossing attempt.

There is no official record on the number of deaths of people trying to cross the Channel.

In 2024, more than 50 people died while trying to cross the Channel, according to incidents recorded by the French coastguard, in what is considered the deadliest year since the crisis unfolded. Last year 17 deaths were confirmed.

The Home Office said: 'This tragic loss of life is a stark reminder of the deadly risks posed by small boat crossings and the criminal gangs who profit from them.

'We will consider the report's findings and recommendations as we continue to strengthen our procedures, training and operational capabilities.'