French and British authorities rescued 173 migrants after an overloaded boat caught fire while attempting an irregular crossing of the English Channel to the United Kingdom. The joint operation took place near the French coast on Tuesday. French authorities said the vessel’s engine caught fire near the boundary between French and British waters, rapidly worsening the boat’s structural condition.

As the situation became uncontrollable, many people aboard jumped into the water to save themselves, prompting a large-scale rescue operation. The French prefecture said the boat had departed on Monday from an area farther south than France’s northern coast. Five passengers were first rescued overnight and taken to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, while other passengers initially declined assistance from French rescue services.

When conditions worsened on Tuesday morning, several vessels, including a British ship, joined the operation. Those rescued were brought ashore at Boulogne-sur-Mer with red blankets and later transported by bus to designated locations. Utopia 56 said about 50 women and children among those rescued arrived in Calais on Tuesday afternoon, but no emergency accommodation had been arranged for them.