More than 1,850 migrants crossed the Channel in April making it the busiest month for small boat arrivals so far this year - with dozens more seen making the perilous journey today
- Figures reveal a total of 5,652 asylum seekers have crossed the channel in 2023
- A record day for this year was April 22 when 497 people arrived by small boats
More than 1,850 migrants crossed the channel in April, making it the busiest month for small boat arrivals so far this year - and dozens more have been seen making the perilous journey today.
Government figures reveal that a total of 5,652 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel in 136 boats to date in 2023, an average of 42 people per vessel.
This month alone has seen 1,859 migrants arrive on British soil by inflatable dinghy or other small craft, making it the busiest this year, and April 22 saw 497 people undertake the perilous journey over a 24-hour period - a record day for 2023 at this stage.
Dozens more migrants have crossed the Channel by small boat on Thursday, despite choppy conditions at sea.
Around 60 asylum seekers - including a number of women and children - were intercepted off the coast of Dungeness, Kent this morning and brought to shore on an RNLI lifeboat.
More than 1,850 migrants crossed the channel in April, making it the busiest month for small boat arrivals so far this year - and dozens more have been seen making the perilous journey today
Government figures reveal that a total of 5,652 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel in 136 boats to date in 2023, an average of 42 people per vessel
A further two inflatable dinghies or other small craft are also thought to have arrived in Dover, Kent earlier in the day, but the Home Office is yet to confirm the official figures.
An RNLI lifeboat and Border Force cutter Seeker could be seen patrolling the Channel near Dungeness around midday.
This comes after 106 migrants were intercepted by UK officials while attempting to make the journey across the 21-mile Dover Straits on Wednesday (April 26), according to the Home Office.
Border Force vessel Ranger brought around 50 asylum seekers into Dover, Kent at 2pm, while the law enforcement agency’s catamaran Typhoon escorted a further 50 or so migrants into the port around an hour later.
Wednesday’s arrivals followed a four-day break in small boat crossings due to poor weather in the Channel.
While the number of small boat crossings is still high, over 1,000 more migrants had made the perilous journey at this stage in 2022.
This month alone has seen 1,859 migrants arrive on British soil by inflatable dinghy or other small craft, making it the busiest this year, and April 22 saw 497 people undertake the perilous journey over a 24-hour period - a record day for 2023 at this stage
Families arrive in the UK after making the treacherous crossing across the Channel on Thursday
A group of people are brought ashore on Thursday, April 27 in Kent
Border Force officials speak to asylum seekers on the beach in Dungeness, Kent
Last April alone saw 2,143 people arrive in 59 vessels, and by April 19 a total of 6,693 people had crossed the Channel.
Overall, 45,755 migrants undertook the treacherous journey in 2022 - a 60 per cent increase on 2021’s total of 28,526.
However, officials have predicted that as many as 80,000 people could make the crossing this year.
