More migrants cross the English Channel so far in 2024 than in all of last year

October 26, 2024, 09:51

More migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the first ten months of 2023 than in all of last year.

A total of 29,578 people have made the dangerous journey so far this year, after 424 reached British shores on Friday.

Some 29,437 migrants crossed the English Channel in 2023, a significant drop from 2022, when 45,728 people crossed.

Some 424 people crossed the English Channel yesterday. Eleven ships, with 509 people on board, made the dangerous journey on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said.

Three people died on Wednesday after a migrant boat sank in the English Channel.

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So far this year, the French coast guard has reported 47 deaths, including a baby who died when a boat ran into difficulty Thursday night.

French coast guard officials confirmed they rescued 76 migrants on three separate boats on Thursday after they suffered difficulties during the journey.

These deaths come after the UK and other G7 nations agreed on an anti-smuggling action plan designed to boost cooperation to stop small boats.

The Home Office said this includes joint investigations and intelligence sharing in a bid to target criminal smuggling routes.

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The action plan also details “working collaboratively” with social media companies to monitor the Internet and different platforms to prevent them from being used to enable migrant smuggling and human trafficking.

This includes calling on social media companies “to do more to respond to online content advertising migrant smuggling services.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to put an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.”