The lifeless body of a woman, possibly Sudanese, was discovered on Friday in a migrant camp in Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk, the Dunkirk public prosecutor was told on Sunday.
"The identity of the deceased has not been confirmed, but the initial information gathered suggests that, subject to ongoing checks, she may be a woman of Sudanese nationality with health problems," said Dunkerque public prosecutor Charlotte Huet, without giving any further details about the age, situation or background of the deceased.
"If no evidence of third-party involvement has come to light at this time, a body examination will be carried out by a forensic pathologist to confirm this," the prosecutor told AFP on Sunday morning.
The magistrate confirmed that on Friday afternoon, the Dunkirk public prosecutor's office had been informed that the body of a deceased woman had been found in the Loon-Plage camp, one of the many camps occupied by migrants who settle there before attempting to reach England.
The Dunkerque public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the cause of death, which has been entrusted to the Dunkerque local criminal investigation department (SLPJ), said the prosecutor.
On 24 March, an Eritrean migrant woman was found dead on a beach in Marck, near Calais (Pas-de-Calais). This was the ninth death of a migrant on the coast in 2025, according to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture.
According to French national police unit OLTIM, 78 migrants died in 2024 trying to reach England in small boats, a record since the phenomenon began in the region in 2018.
