One person dead after several migrant boats attempt to cross English Channel

A total of 192 people were rescued by the French coastguard between Sunday night and Monday morning

Several migrant vessels attempted to cross the English Channel overnight (Getty)

One person has died while attempting to cross the English Channel in a small boat last night, the French coastguard has said.

Several others were injured after the migrant vessel broke up in the water after leaving Hardelot. Overall, 68 people were rescued and brought back to the French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer by patrol boats at around 3am, while one person was declared dead.

During the course of Sunday evening and Monday morning, the authorities conducted a number of rescue operations as several migrant boats attempted to cross the Channel.

A group of people believed to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following small boat crossings in the Channel on Monday (PA)

A total of 192 people were rescued, after a second boat requested assistance a short while later, with the rescue vessel Ridens collecting 56 people who had gotten into difficulty.

It follows a weekend of intense activity on the cross-Channel route, with women and children among those rescued and brought to Dover on Saturday morning.

The arrivals were seen being brought ashore wearing lifejackets aboard a Border Force vessel, marking the first arrivals since 216 people arrived on 2 May.

The total number of migrants to arrive in the UK so far in 2025 is 11,516, an uptick from 9,258 during the same period last year.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to tackle the growing number of small boat crossings (PA)

On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer laid out his plans to reduce the number of people coming to the UK, saying the country risks becoming an “island of strangers” without better integration.

The White Paper is aimed at reducing numbers, clamping down on abuses of the system and ending a reliance on cheap foreign labour. Its measures include migrants needing to wait 10 years to apply for citizenship, a higher standard of English required and stricter tests for admission to colleges and universities.

However, these are aimed at curbing legal migration, but the government also faces a significant challenge in tackling small boat crossings.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Later this summer, we will set out further reforms to the asylum system and to border security in response to irregular and illegal migration.”