Two press releases from the French authorities for the Channel and the North Sea (Préfecture maritime Manche et mer du Nord - Premar) released on Friday and Saturday (March 21-22) detail the rescue of a total of 225 migrants who were returned to France.

Meanwhile data from the British authorities shows that 1,452 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK coast in the seven days ending on March 23. A total of 5,847 migrants have crossed the Channel since the beginning of the year and ending on the same day, March 23.

The BBC reports that this is the earliest point in the year that the crossing numbers have reached these levels since this record-keeping began in 2018.

A series of rescues

On Friday evening, a boat carrying migrants came up on the radar off the coast of Hardelot, Premar stated in a press release. The authorities sent a boat towards the small dinghy which was having engine trouble. The group of migrants asked for help and 57 people were taken on board the French naval ship Jeanne Barret and taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The evening before, on the night of Thursday (March 20) into Friday (March 21), Premar said that they had detected "a number of small boats" attempting to cross the Channel. The first boat they found was also facing engine trouble and the 62 migrants on board asked for assistance and were also brought to Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Another naval patrol ship, the L’Abeille Normandie, picked up 35 people from a separate boat, of which two were injured and one person was "unconscious." A helicopter was sent to airlift the unconscious person whose state of health was "stabilized" during the flight. That person was flown to hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer and treated there during the night.

The others who were picked up from the boat were also taken to Boulogne and looked after by the local fire services, Premar added. The same migrant boat then continued towards the UK carrying an unspecified number of people. It was accompanied at a distance by a French surveillance boat to make sure that no further problems occurred.

Read AlsoUK sees sharp drop in work visas as asylum claims reach record high

Later that night, another boat was found to be in difficulty in the same area, and 63 people were picked up and taken to Boulogne in the early hours of the morning.

Right at the end of the night, off the coast of Dunkirk, eight people were rescued from a boat, but the rest of the migrants decided to continue towards the UK. In total, 168 people were rescued during that night, of which three people were injured and taken to hospital, states the press release.

Read AlsoBritish PM under fire for failing to contain irregular Channel arrivals

Dangerous crossings

The French authorities continue to issue warnings about the dangers of trying to cross the Channel in small boats. The maritime area is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with more than 600 commercial ships crossing it every day. Often the meteorological conditions can also be difficult. At least 120 days a year, wind speeds are greater than a force seven, which translates into rough seas and strong winds.

Attempting crossing in winter on boats that are overloaded and often unseaworthy just increases the risk. Even a fit person with a life jacket can only survive a short time in winter water temperatures, and many of the migrants who attempt the crossing don’t even have an adequate life jacket.

Last week, at least two deaths were recorded in the Channel area on the French side in the space of 24 hours. In the night of March 19 into March 20, not far from the French town of Gravelines, a man was reported dead as he attempted to make the crossing towards the UK.

The man was lifted from a boat that got into difficulty off the coast by the French authorities. According to French reports, he was among a group that was helped a few kilometers from land. Three people were already in the water and 12 people on board the boat asked to be evacuated.

Among those helped was an unconscious migrant, stated a press release from the French rescue authorities. "Although he was given medical attention, the medical team was not able to resuscitate him," stated the French prefecture.

The boat continued towards the UK with a group of around 80 migrants on board, reported InfoMigrants French last week.

Fewer than 24 hours before that, the body of a man reported to be 25 years old was recovered from the Equihen beach in the Pas-de-Calais area. Three people on the same boat as this man were transported to hospital with injuries.

Since the beginning of the year, at least eight people have been recorded dead while attempting to cross the Channel towards the UK. In 2024, a year declared by the IOM to be the deadliest yet on record for migrants, at least 78 people are recorded to have died using the Channel route. The UN Migration Agency’s Missing Migrants project puts that figure at 82, of which at least 14 children.