Warm weather sparks surge in migrant crossings as dozens more people trying to cross the Channel in an inflatable dinghy are intercepted by French officials
- More than 1,000 made the treacherous voyage in the last three days
Warm weather has sparked a surge in migrant crossings as dozens more trying to cross the Channel in an inflatable dinghy are intercepted by French officials.
Photos show a group of migrants on an inflatable dinghy seen from the French rescue vessel ‘Abeille Normandie’ as they tried to cross from the coast of northern France, with the warm weather and calm seas reportedly making crossings more ‘favourable’.
More than 1,000 made the treacherous voyage in the last three days in 19 dinghies.
But windy weather conditions are expected to hamper attempts to cross the English Channel for the next few days.
It comes as the number of migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year reaches more than 25,000.
A group of migrants disembarks from an inflatable dinghy at the Le Portel beach after an unsuccessful attempt to cross the English Channel from the coast of northern France
A group of migrants on an inflatable dinghy is seen from the French rescue vessel ‘Abeille Normandie’
The total number now stands at 25,382 in 533 boats – an average of 48 migrants per dinghy. It is around 23 per cent below the equivalent number at this point last year.
Just over 33,000 people had made the crossing by October 2, 2022, compared with 25,330 detected so far in 2023.
Read more: Dozens more migrants seen arriving in Dover as French officials stop man trying to row across the Channel in an inflatable dinghy
On Saturday 537 people in nine inflatables were intercepted by Border Force.
The following day 28 were picked up in one boat. And 472 were detected in nine boats on Monday.
Yesterday morning, the nautical brigade of Police Nationale in France stopped an unidentified person off the coast of Gravelines near Dunkirk, who was attempting to row across the Calais Strait in an inflatable dinghy.
The rower, wearing a yellow coat and a black hat, was photographed at sea in a small grey inflatable dinghy with a pair of oars.
Two ships could be seen in the background of the picture, which Police Nationale shared on social media site X.com, formerly known as twitter, alongside the caption: ‘This morning, the nautical brigade of the Police Nationale of Pas-de-Calais fished out an individual off the coast of Gravelines who was trying to row across the North Sea in a makeshift boat. Our goal: to save lives.’
Yesterday morning, ‘the nautical brigade of the Police Nationale of Pas-de-Calais fished out an individual off the coast of Gravelines who was trying to row across the North Sea in a makeshift boat’
Dozens more migrants arrived in Dover, Kent shortly after 11am yesterday after being intercepted in the Channel by UK officials
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