France, May 3 -- The two women, aged about 20, were aboard a small boat carrying 82 people, Christophe Marx, a regional government official, told reporters.

The boat set out to sea during the night from Saturday to Sunday, but "the engine wouldn't start" and the boat began to drift, Marx said.

Seventeen people were rescued at sea and taken to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The boat with the remaining 65 people on board eventually ran aground on a beach near Neufchatel-Hardelot, about 12 kilometres south of Boulogne-sur-Mer, he said, adding that the victims had been found "dead inside the boat".

Thirteen people with moderate injuries and three others with serious wounds, including burn victims, were taken to hospital.

They were "being ...