More than 900 migrants arrive in small boats in a day

More than 900 radical crossed the English Channel successful tiny boats connected Saturday - the highest regular full truthful acold this year.

According to the Home Office, 973 migrants arrived successful 17 boats, bringing the full fig for the twelvemonth to 26,612 radical successful 503 boats.

The crossings came the aforesaid time French authorities said four people, including a two-year-old boy, had died portion trying to transverse the Channel to scope the UK.

The Home Office has said antecedently it was making advancement successful its bid to extremity unsafe tiny vessel crossings, "which endanger lives and undermine our borderline security".

The previous highest regular total of arrivals successful 2024 was 882 radical connected 18 June.

While determination were nary recorded crossings successful the archetypal 3 days of October, connected Friday, 395 migrants arrived successful the UK aft making the journey.

The full fig of arrivals successful 2024 truthful acold is present higher than astatine the aforesaid constituent past year, erstwhile 25,330 migrants had reached the UK.

But it is inactive acold little than astatine the aforesaid constituent successful the twelvemonth successful 2022, erstwhile 33,586 radical had made the crossing.

On Saturday, French authorities said the 4 radical who died portion attempting to transverse the Channel were apt "trampled to death" successful 2 abstracted boats that had motor failures.

French interior curate Bruno Retailleau said the deaths were a "terrible tragedy", adding that radical smugglers "have the humor of these radical connected their hands".

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the deaths were "appalling", and that "criminal smuggler gangs proceed to organise these unsafe vessel crossings".