At least 8 people have died trying to cross the English Channel

NICE, France (AP) — At least eight people died during a failed attempt to cross the English Channel from northern France, French maritime authorities said Sunday.

The tragedy occurred Saturday just before midnight when authorities spotted a boat, carrying dozens, in distress near a beach in the northern town of Ambleteuse.

A French rescue ship was deployed to the area and rescue services offered medical assistance to 53 migrants on the beach, a statement from the French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea said.

“Despite the emergency care provided, eight people have died,” the statement said.

No people were discovered during the search at sea, it added.

Six people were taken to hospital “in relative emergency,” including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia, Jacques Billant, the Pas-de-Calais prefect, told French media on Sunday. He said that survivors came from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran.

The inflatable boat, carrying 59 people, set sail from the beach near the town of Vimont and ran aground soon after, the prefect said. “The boat was clearly torn apart on the rocks,” he added.

Fifty-one survivors have been taken to a reception center in the city of Toulouse, according to local authorises. The prosecutor's office in Boulogne-sur-mer has opened an investigation.

The deaths on Saturday occurred nearly two weeks after a boat carrying migrants ripped apart in the English Channel as they attempted to reach Britain from northern France, plunging dozens into the treacherous waterway and leaving 12 dead, officials said.

British officials were quick to express sadness over another English Channel tragedy.

“It’s awful,’’ Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the BBC. “It’s a further loss of life.”

The new Labour Party government has pledged to crack down on criminal gangs and had discussed with European partners “how we go after those gangs, in cooperation upstream.’’

Europe’s increasingly strict asylum rules, growing xenophobia and hostile treatment of migrants have been pushing them north. At least 46 migrants had died while trying to cross to the U.K. this year, said Billant, the Pas-de-Calais prefect.

At least 137,563 people have reached the United Kingdom after crossing the Channel from France since 2018, according to U.K. Home Office figures. On Saturday alone, 14 boats carrying 801 migrants reached Britain.

French coast guard and navy vessels on Saturday rescued 200 people from the treacherous waters in the Pas-de-Calais area, according to a report sent by French maritime authorities in charge of the Channel and the North Sea.

They said they observed 18 attempts of boat departures from France to Britain on Saturday.

Other surveillance and rescue operations are underway Sunday along the entire Pas-de-Calais coast amid stormy weather conditions and agitated sea, French maritime authorities said. They warned anyone who tries to cross the Channel on flimsy and overloaded boats and in often difficult weather conditions of “significant risks.”

In July, four migrants died while attempting the crossing on an inflatable boat that capsized and punctured. Five others, including a child, died in another attempt in April. Five dead were recovered from the sea or found washed up along a beach after a migrant boat ran into difficulties in the dark and winter cold of January.

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Danica Kirka contributed to this report from London.

FILE - A boat thought to be with migrants is escorted by a vessel from the French Gendarmerie Nationale off the Wimereux beach, France, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Nicholas Garriga, File)

FILE - A vessel of the French Gendarmerie Nationale patrols in front of the Wimereux beach, France, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Nicholas Garriga, File)

A least 8 people have died trying to cross the English Channel, French authorities say

A least 8 people have died trying to cross the English Channel, French authorities say

FILE - A view of one of the vessels from the French Gendarmerie Nationale in the port of Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, after participating in the rescue operation after a boat carrying migrants ripped apart attempting to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga, File)

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Tuesday after Wall Street rolled to more records, with Hong Kong's benchmark losing more than 3%.

Oil prices shed more than $3 a barrel.

Germany's DAX gained 0.3% to 19,564.16, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped 0.7% to 7,547.36. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to 8,253.07.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1%.

Chinese shares extended losses after the government reported late Monday that growth in exports fell sharply in September, adding to signs of weakness in the economy.

The Shanghai Composite index lost 2.5% to 3,201.29, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up 3.7% to 20,318.79.

Weaker than expected data on lending and prices have undermined already fragile market sentiment that has wavered as investors await fresh details on the government plans for stimulus to help rev up the economy.

“Market participants continue to seek for clarity around fiscal stimulus support from Chinese authorities, but the lack of commitment remains a source of reservation for risk-taking in Chinese equities,” Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a commentary.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.8% to 39,910.55, while the Kospi in Seoul gained 0.4% to 2,633.45.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.8% to 8,318.40.

Also early Tuesday, the dollar fell to 148.89 Japanese yen from 149.83 yen. The euro rose to $1.0915 from $1.0911.

U.S. benchmark crude dropped $3.73 to $70.10 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, skidded $3.79 to $73.67 per barrel.

“The oil market is on a wild ride, caught in a whirlwind of geopolitical tension, OPEC+ strategy shifts and a slowdown from its biggest customer, China,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report. China's usual growth in demand of about 600,000 barrels per day has fallen to 200,000 barrels.

Despite uncertainty over how conflict in the Middle East might affect oil supplies, “the real threat to crude isn't war, it's oversupply,” he said, noting that many oil exporters are committed to ramping up their output.

Besides oil, prices also have been falling for copper and other commodities that a healthy Chinese economy would devour.

On Monday, Wall Street rolled to more all-time highs.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to build on its record set on Friday, closing at 5,859.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 43,065.22, adding 201 points to its own record. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.9% to 18,502.69.

The gains followed relatively quiet trading in Europe, while the U.S. bond market remained closed for the day because of a holiday.

This week will have few top-tier economic reports outside of an update Thursday on sales at U.S. retailers. That leaves the emphasis on corporate earnings reports, which will pick up the pace this week after big banks began the reporting season last week.

Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group will all report their latest results on Tuesday. Later in the week will come United Airlines, Netflix, American Express and Procter & Gamble.

Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to deliver overall growth of 4.1% in earnings per share for the latest quarter from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they’re correct, it would be a fifth straight quarter of growth.

Stocks have broadly rallied to records on relief that interest rates are finally heading back down, now that the Federal Reserve has widened its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation.

Recent reports showing the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected have also raised optimism that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing where it gets inflation down to 2% without causing a recession that many had thought would be necessary.

FILE - People pass the entrance for the Wall Street subway station on Sept. 2, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE -A passerby moves past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index and stock prices outside a securities building Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)