Three migrants have died during chaotic scenes in the English Channel this morning as smugglers continue to launch dangerously overcrowded dinghies.

The women lost their lives after trying to board a “taxi boat” in Dunkirk.

They were found dead on the vessel, it is understood.

And the dinghy has been allowed to continue to the UK, with two Border Force vessels waiting to collect the asylum seekers once they reach British waters.

The boat was spotted at around 6am with three people on board who were found unresponsive. They were taken to shore by rescue crews before paramedics confirmed they had died.

Another man died, and six were injured, including a small baby, during an attempted crossing overnight.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened to hear about these deaths.

“Every death in the Channel is a tragedy and a stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit. We will continue working relentlessly with the French and our partners overseas to prevent these perilous journeys.

“The French authorities are leading the response and investigation into this incident.”

Smuggling gangs have expanded their footprint in northern France, launching dinghies from as far south as Fecamp and Dieppe.

And the tragedies came hours after a French gendarme sensationally claimed “our orders are to let them go”.

The armed officer revealed “we just have to say to them ‘don’t do that, it is dangerous’” as dozens of migrants climbed onto a dinghy near Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also accused the gendarmes of a “shameful dereliction of duty” after they allowed a suspected smuggler who fired up the dinghy’s engine to walk away free as the vessel departed.

He said officers could easily have prevented the departure because the water was only “knee deep”.

And he revealed how male asylum seekers were so desperate to reach the UK that they pushed women and children off in another day of carnage in the Channel.

In more shameful scenes on the French coast, the officer, who at first shrugged at the question of why they are letting migrants into the water, told Mr Philp: “Our orders are to let them go.

“We just have to say to them ‘don’t do that, it is dangerous’.

“We have to protect them”.

It comes as smugglers launched a series of co-ordinated launches across northern France.

As many as 700 migrants are feared to have crossed the Channel on Wednesday, following an attempt to launch a dinghy in Fecamp.

It was discovered off the coast of Eastbourne.

Mr Philp said of the dinghy he waded into the water to film: “The illegal immigrants had pushed off a number of women and children who were then left behind.

“The French police are standing aside, doing absolutely nothing at all to stop this re-embarkation.

“We are only knee-deep in water, and it would be very easy for the French police to stop this dinghy.”