A total of 973 migrants in 17 small boats crossed the English Channel to the UK on Saturday – the highest daily number this year.
The figure surpassed the previous record for 2024 – which was 882 people on 18 June.
The arrivals bring the total for the year to 26,612 compared to 25,330 by the same date last year and 33,611 in 2022.
It comes as French authorities said four people died while attempting to cross the Channel on Saturday – including a two-year-old boy who was “trampled to death”.
Jacques Billant, prefect of Pas-de-Calais region, said the French coastguard had responded to a boat carrying almost 90 people which suffered engine failure.
Fifteen people were transferred to a tow vessel, including the boy, who was unconscious.
A medical team was sent by helicopter, but he was pronounced dead.
He was “trampled to death”, according to French interior minister Bruno Retailleau on X.
Mr Billant said that the other 14 migrants, including a 17-year-old who suffered burns to his legs, were taken to the port of Boulogne to receive care before being questioned by police.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:02
‘This could be deadliest year for boat crossings’
The rest of the occupants were allowed to continue their journey to the UK, Mr Billant said.
Mr Retailleau also said: “The people smugglers have the blood of these people on their hands and our government will intensify the fight against these mafias who are getting rich by organising these crossings of death.”
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Yvette Cooper, the UK home secretary, replied to Mr Retailleau on the social media platform, saying it was “appalling” that more lives had been lost in the Channel, “including a young child”.
“Criminal smuggler gangs” do not care “if people live or die”, she added.
Ms Cooper has pledged an immediate £75m investment in border security, with funding made available to the National Crime Agency to pay for covert operation equipment to disrupt people smugglers.
Image: People thought to be migrants at Dover on Saturday. Pic: PA
In a second incident, a boat with 83 people on board suffered several engine failures which caused panic on board leading to some people falling into the sea who were all rescued.
Three passengers – two men and a woman – were found unconscious at the bottom of the vessel, Mr Billant said. They were “probably crushed and suffocated during the jostling and drowned in the 40cm of water present in the boat”.
He added: “Despite the intervention of the doctors, they were declared dead. They are two men and a woman, all three around 30 years old.”
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
A British climber has been rescued from a mountainside in India, having been trapped there for three days.Fay Manners, 37, and American Michelle Dvorak, 31, were trekking up the Chaukhamba mountain in northern India when they ran into difficulties. There were fears the two experienced mountaineers wouldn't make it back down after their equipment fell down a gorge, leaving them stranded, The Sun reported. Image: Pic: Indian Air Force/Reuters They […]
Post comments (0)