A 10-year-old child and two women have died after their boat got into difficulty in the Channel. The incident happened after the dinghy had left Bleriot Plage, near Calais, on Monday morning (September 28). Ship tracking data shows that rescue boats are still in the area.
Rescue and medical response
105 people on board the migrant dinghy were rescued after calling for assistance, French authorities said. The child and two women could not be saved after the medical team was transported to the rescue boat by helicopter to help the survivors.
Crossing statistics and recent arrivals
Home Office figures show that 18,609 people have successfully made the journey so far this year. This is down 42% on this time last year (32,188), and 26% below the figure at this stage in 2024 (25,165).
On Wednesday (September 23), over 700 people arrived in the UK, marking the highest number for a single day so far this year. Two uncontrolled landings, where migrant boats arriving on UK shores without being intercepted by authorities, also occurred last week.
Home Secretary orders review
Following this, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command. She said: “Our improved monitoring has led to uncontrolled crossings becoming incredibly rare, but even one is one too many.
“That is why I have ordered an urgent review by the Border Security Command into how this happened, and what must be done to ensure it doesn't happen again.”
The Home Secretary added that new tactics were being adopted by people smugglers, including launching small boats from much further west in France. She added: “Firstly, these gangs have no regard for human life. They are putting people on increasingly long and dangerous crossings.
“Secondly, our efforts are having an impact. We are making it much harder for gangs to launch vessels, forcing them to change their approach, and as a result we are significantly reducing the numbers coming here by small boat.”
