Two men have died after attempting to cross the English Channel off the coast of Berck in northern France.

According to local media, police observed migrants leaving the beach on a boat at around 22:00 local time on Sunday. When rescuers arrived, passengers were bailing water out of the overloaded vessel using their shoes.

"When we arrived, there were at least 80 people on board and a terrible smell of gasoline," Jean-Marc Lamblin, director of the French national sea rescue service (SNSM), told La Voix du Nord newspaper.

Lamblin said the boat was carrying so many people, including children, that around 20 individuals were left stranded in the water, unable to board.

When SNSM crews arrived, two men, aged in their 30s and 40s, were found in cardiac arrest. They were brought back to shore, where firefighters and paramedics attempted to assist them, but both men died at around midnight.

Two women suffered burns caused by a mixture of gasoline in the seawater and were taken to hospital. Their injuries were described as not life-threatening. According to local media, the women are Somali nationals, aged 20 and 26, and are recovering in Rang-du-Fliers hospital.

The Boulogne-sur-Mer public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the deaths.