Portugal Colonial - Two women die trying to cross Channel from France

Some 60 other migrants were rescued in the incident in which the two women died, when around 100 people got on to a makeshift boat south of the beaches of Neufchatel-Hardelot at around 3:15 am (0115 GMT) in a bid to get to the UK.

Their overloaded boat returned to shore an hour later, after its motor failed to start, the local prefecture said in a statement.

Civil protection workers took in 60 people for care, while others who had been on the boat ran away when rescuers turned up, said Isabelle Fradin-Thirode, an official in nearby Montreuil-sur-Mer.

A couple and their child suffering from moderate hypothermia were rushed to a hospital in Boulogne, she said.

The body -- that of a man in his late 20s or early 30s -- was recovered from a canal in the town of Gravelines, next to Dunkirk, said the prefecture and AFP journalists at the scene.

These latest incidents bring the number of Channel crossing deaths to at least 26 this year, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

Since January, a record 32,000 migrants have arrived in Britain by crossing the Channel in small boats.

- Franco-British deal -

Under a recent Franco-British scheme, the UK can return them after arrival if they are deemed ineligible for asylum, including those who have passed through a "safe country" to reach UK shores.

In return, London will accept an equal number of migrants from France who are likely to have their asylum claims granted.

This agreement does not appear to have discouraged migrants from making the perilous crossing.

On Friday, an AFP team in the Gravelines area saw hundreds of migrants preparing to cross the Channel from different points on the beach whenever the weather turned favourable.

AFP reporters interviewed several migrants at a makeshift camp at Loon-Plage near Dunkirk earlier this week.

Some told reporters that they had already suffered acute hardship and dangers to come so near their ultimate goal.

Taking a small boat across the channel, "you aren't sure you'll survive," he said.

"But that's OK, we still have to try our luck."

L.E.Campos--PC