Record 230 people cross Channel in single boat

A small boat carrying 230 people crossed the English Channel and arrived in the United Kingdom early Monday, setting a record for the largest number of people to make the journey in a single vessel.

The boat left France late Sunday and reached the English coast after being intercepted by British authorities. The total surpassed the previous record set in July, when 165 people crossed in one vessel.

A photograph taken off the coast of northern France showed the inflatable boat packed so tightly that many passengers had to dangle their legs in the water as it entered one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. French rescuers said the 15-metre, or 49-foot, vessel was “buckling” in the water and could have led to a “tragedy,” the BBC reported.

According to the BBC, the boat was carrying about 50 people when it was seen heading toward a beach to pick up more passengers. The SNMS rescue team, the French equivalent of the UK’s RNLI, said about 30 people ended up in the water during the rush to climb aboard. Part of the group also became cut off by the tide and had to be rescued, the team said in a translated statement.

The vessel had been carrying 232 migrants before two people asked for assistance and were taken to Calais, the BBC reported.

The Home Office said the episode showed how smugglers are placing increasing numbers of people on fragile boats. “This latest incident demonstrates the reckless and dangerous tactics employed by the criminal gangs facilitating these crossings, who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people onto unseaworthy vessels,” a spokesperson said.

Officials say the average number of people per boat has risen sharply in recent years. In 2018, there were an average of seven people per boat; last year, that figure had risen to 62. Earlier this month, a dinghy carrying 173 people headed for the UK capsized in the Channel after its engine caught fire, Al Jazeera reported. The BBC said 173 migrants had to be rescued from a single boat that caught fire on Tuesday.

Despite the record number aboard Monday’s vessel, overall crossings are down this year. Provisional figures cited by Al Jazeera show 14,819 people have crossed the Channel from France so far this year, a 43% decline compared with January to mid-July last year. The BBC reported that the number of boats successfully crossing is down 49% and that July saw the lowest number of crossings for that month since 2020.

Officials believe efforts to disrupt smuggling networks are having an effect. The BBC reported that 1,100 small boats and engines have been seized since Labour came to power, and officials say improved surveillance and reconnaissance over the Channel have ended “unintercepted” beach landings. The Home Office also said Britain had signed a “payment-by-results” deal with France to put “40 percent more boots on the ground on French beaches.”

A spokesperson for the prime minister said images from the crossing were “appalling” and showed “young babies being put into these unseaworthy craft.” The spokesperson said the government was “not complacent” and that joint action had prevented 47,000 attempted crossings since the election.

The BBC reported that 10 people have been sentenced for endangering lives at sea since a new law targeting people who pilot small boats came into force in January. In April, the UK and France agreed to a £662 million, or 773 million euro, three-year deal that included plans for riot-trained police on French beaches, drones and two helicopters to help intercept smugglers and migrants.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on X that the arrival was “yet more proof that this illegal invasion is a national security emergency.” Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said enforcement officers targeting smuggling gangs had been doubled on both sides of the Channel, but that “a system that offers safe routes for people” also needed to be built.