Four migrants dead after busiest day of the year for Channel crossings

Four migrants died while trying to reach the UK after the busiest day for Channel crossings this year.Three people were found dead on a boat off the coast of Dunkirk on Thursday, the French coastguard said, and a fourth is thought to have drowned in a separate incident near Boulogne-sur-Mer.On Wednesday, 752 migrants arrived in the UK after making the journey in nine boats, suggesting an average of 84 people per boat, Home Office figures show.This is understood to be the 33rd highest day for arrivals since the current crisis began in 2018.It comes just days after the Prime Minister said the Government’s plan to curb Channel crossings was “working”, although he admitted there was “more to do”.Andy Burnham stood by his comments during a visit to Cumbria on Thursday, maintaining “progress is being made on all fronts” when pressed by reporters.He said “significant progress” had been made in reducing the number of crossings and praised the Home Secretary’s efforts, but added that more work was needed to “get the grip on the issue” and “get those numbers right down”.The latest arrivals take the provisional total for the year so far to 14,128.This is 42% lower than the number recorded by this time last year (24,538) and down 15% on the same period in 2024 (16,712).The highest number of migrant crossings in a single day was recorded on September 3 2022 (1,305).French authorities said a boat was spotted at about 6am with three people on board who were found unresponsive.They were taken to shore by rescue crews and paramedics confirmed they had died, according to a translation of a statement from the Prefecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord.A judicial investigation has been launched after a man thought to be between 30 and 40 died in a separate incident hours earlier, when a dinghy capsized off the coast of Plage d’Hardelot.A one-year-old was among six people rescued and treated by emergency services, the region’s state body the Prefet du Pas-de-Calais said.Read MoreCharity Safe Passage International described the deaths as “devastating and avoidable” while calling on the Government to “take accountability for the lack of safe routes for refugees”.Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the tragedies were “preventable”.The Government said it was “deeply saddened” by the news and vowed to “continue working relentlessly with the French and our partners overseas to prevent these perilous journeys”.The Home Office insisted the Government was “bearing down” on Channel crossings and said the “landmark new payments by results” deal struck by Shabana Mahmood with France will “boost enforcement action on beaches and put people smugglers behind bars.”Migrants were seen walking along the side of the road near Hardelot in France on Thursday carrying life jackets (Gareth Fuller/PA)PA WireIn April, the Home Secretary signed a three-year £662 million deal which is expected to see French police removing hundreds of migrants from beaches every year.Riot police will be sent to stop migrants entering the Channel as part of measures which have come into force this summer, typically the busiest time of the year for crossings.Since last month 125 officers in two extra police units have been sent on to beaches tasked with dispersing migrant groups, stopping boats from launching and pursuing people smugglers.Some 75 officers in the Compagnie de Marche unit have public order powers to tackle violence on the beaches and step up patrols of the coastline.They will be deployed on specific days and to areas where there are expected to be more crossing attempts, with a particular focus over the summer months which are typically the busiest time for crossings, the Home Office said.They are joined by 50 officers in riot police unit the Compagnie republicaine de securite (CRS).But a video posted by Mr Philp – the former Conservative immigration minister who had vowed to curb Channel crossings while in post – appeared to suggest other police officers tasked with patrolling beaches are not allowed to intervene with crossings.In the footage he confronts a French gendarme standing on a beach while migrants tried to board a boat who said: “Our order is to let them go. We just have to say to them ‘Don’t do that, it’s dangerous.’ We have to protect them.”