A man has died after attempting to cross the Channel in a small boat.

The incident took place yesterday (March 9), with a UK government spokesperson confirming French authorities are leading the investigation.

According to the BBC, the dead man was a Kuwaiti national, in his 60s, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the boat carrying him and other passengers.

The vessel was attempting to cross the Channel from northern France to England, French maritime authorities said.

The Pas-de-Calais prefecture said the boat had returned to the beach but despite the efforts of the emergency services, he was declared deceased at the scene.

A UK government spokesperson said: “We will not be commenting further at this stage.”

The French maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea told the AFP news agency: “This boat set off again once it had dropped off the people who wanted to disembark on the beach.”

Authorities said the boat was “quite heavily loaded” but did not disclose how many people were on board.

Home Office figures show that more than 1,600 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats in the past week, with 174 arriving yesterday.