BBC Breakfast presenters delivered a devastating breaking news announcement live on air. During Sunday’s (May 3) edition of the much-loved morning programme, Luxmy Gopal and Roger Johnson updated viewers on the latest developments from across Britain and abroad.
They were joined in the studio by Elizabeth Rizzini, who delivered regular weather forecasts, while Olly Foster handled the sports coverage.
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However, towards the end of the BBC programme, Luxmy made the heartbreaking announcement following reports that two migrants had lost their lives after a boat capsized in the Channel during an overnight crossing attempt to the UK, reports The Mirror.
Addressing viewers at home, Luxmy revealed: “Some breaking news to bring you. Reports have just come through in the past few minutes that two people have died off the coast of northern France after a boat carrying migrants came into difficulty overnight.”
Co-host Roger continued: “Lets go live to our reporter Simon Jones, who has got the latest on this for us. Simon what more do we know about what happened.”
BBC reporter Simon Jones updated viewers on the devastating news (Image: BBC)The programme then switched to Simon, who appeared on the breakfast show via video link and updated viewers on the harrowing developments.
A large-scale rescue operation was launched in the early hours after a migrant dinghy carrying 65 people ran into trouble off Hardelot beach, south of Boulogne.
French authorities confirmed that two female migrants perished in the incident involving a so-called taxi boat, as scores of people desperately attempted to clamber aboard. Authorities report that a second migrant boat in the vicinity pressed on with its voyage to the UK as the incident occurred at approximately 3am.
It is understood that 82 people were crammed onto the vessel that “ran aground” on a beach at Neufchatel-Hardelot, roughly 12 kilometres (seven miles) south of the port of Boulogne, according to Christophe Marx, a regional government official.
The news presenter shared the breaking news announcement live on air (Image: BBC)The incident brings the death toll to at least eight people this year who have perished on small boats attempting the perilous crossing of the English Channel to the southern coast of the UK.
Last month, Britain and France signed a fresh three-year agreement on security operations aimed at halting the crossings.
France will bolster the number of police and gendarmes patrolling the coastline while the British Government will increase its financial contribution to the operation, according to an AFP tally based on official French and British sources.
