Migrant dies and seven others injured attempting to cross English Channel
12 May 2025, 12:01
One migrant has died and seven others were injuries in attempt to cross over into England on a small boat.
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Around 60 men, woman and children were rescued off the coast of northern France in the early hours on Monday morning.
A fire linked to a faulty outboard motor started onboard the boat provided by people smugglers, it is understood.
It left multiple people with severe burns, a spokesman said.
Two women, aged 35 and 28, also showed signs of severe hypothermia, among three others, including a child.
Survivors were brought back to Le Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer,the Abeille Normandie and Thénis, an emergency services spokesman added.
Read more: Migrant Channel crossing arrivals pass 11,000 this year alone during spring warm spell
It came after a weekend “intense activity” on the migrant crossing route, a source said.
“Good weather, including sunshine and a lack of wind, meant numerous small boats set off,” he told reporters.
Earlier this month, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Times Radio that gangs have been "taking advantage of the much higher number of calm weather days" and that the situation "cannot continue" where "the impact on our border security of the weather is so significant".
More than 10 people have died trying to reach the UK on small boats in 2025.
Last year, 78 migrants died trying to reach England via this method.
In April, a migrant has died trying to cross the English Channel just days after the highest number of arrivals in a single day this year was recorded.
In a statement, the RNLI said: “Dover RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was tasked by HM Coastguard at 8.15am today (Friday 18 April) to an incident in the Channel.”
Just one boat has arrived this month, with 58 migrants reaching Britain, according to the latest Home Office data.
It come just days after more than 700 people crossed the Channel, the highest number of arrivals on a single day in 2025.
More arrivals were recorded in January to April 2025 than in the equivalent four-month period in any year since data on Channel crossings began in 2018.
That is despite the Government vowing to crack down on people-smuggling across the Channel.
