Migrant airlifted as boat with 40 sinks in English Channel

LONDON (AP) — French authorities say an undocumented migrant has been airlifted to hospital from the English Channel after a boat carrying about 40 people trying to reach the U.K. started to sink. A joint French-Belgian search and rescue effort began Thursday after a cargo ship reported that the boat was in difficulty off the coast of Dunkirk, with some people overboard. An unconscious person was taken aboard the cargo ship’s lifeboat and transferred to a French Navy patrol boat before being transported by a Belgian Air Force helicopter to hospital in Calais. There has been a flurry of crossing attempts recently as people smugglers take advantage of good weather.