The French coastguard mayday call emerged on Thursday after 27 people drowned trying to cross the Channel
The radio operator alerted all ships in the area of "approximately" 15 people overboard and to report information to Gris-Nez emergency officials.
An emergency search was sparked at about 2pm on Wednesday when a fishing boat sounded the alarm after spotting several people at sea off the coast of France
The cause of the accident has not been formally established but the boat used was inflatable and when found by rescuers was mostly deflated
Channel drownings: what happened and who is to blame?