More than 1,600 migrants crossed the English Channel to Britain in small boats over four days last week. The boats are carrying more people and launching from a wider stretch of the European coast.
Britain’s Home Office, its interior ministry, recorded 263 crossings on October 29, 671 on October 30, 259 on October 31, and 477 on November 1: 1,670 people in 23 boats, government figures show. None were recorded on October 28 or on November 2 and 3. The daily figures are provisional.
Launches now run from Belgium to Normandy, in northern France, the BBC reports. Rescuers pulled 38 people from the sea off Cadzand, on the Dutch coast.
The year-to-date total stands at 22,128 between January 1 and October 31, down 40 percent on 2025.
But the boats are getting fuller. Each now carries an average of 68 people, more than double the 2021 figure.
