Three people, including two children, were found dead on Monday after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Mayotte, the French archipelago's authorities told AFP.
Mayotte is a regular destination for migrants from the nearby Comoros archipelago, who brave the often deadly 70-kilometre sea journey from Anjouan island in the hopes of reaching the overseas French department.
The boat sank around 9:00 am (0600 GMT) and rescuers from the nautical brigade in Pamandzi later found the bodies of two children and a woman.
Searches were ongoing for others potentially missing, local channel Mayotte la 1ere reported.
According to official figures, authorities intercepted 493 boats carrying 6,764 people in 2024 near Mayotte.
Some 48 percent of Mayotte's 320,000-strong population hold foreign nationality, of whom 95 percent are Comorans, according to France's national statistics institute.
At least 25 people died in November 2024 in a shipwreck off the Comoros, with survivors and the International Organization for Migration agency blaming the deaths on smugglers deliberately sinking the vessel.