Almost 300 migrants arrive in UK after death in English Channel

Home Office figures showed 292 people travelled in seven boats on Friday.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel (PA Wire)

Nearly 300 migrants arrived in the UK on the same day a person died when a boat sank in the English Channel, latest figures show.

Some 292 people made the crossing in seven boats on Friday, according to Home Office figures published on Saturday.

The data comes after it was confirmed a migrant died and another was left in a critical condition during an incident on Friday.

More than 60 people were on board a boat as it began to deflate about five miles off the northern coast of France in the early hours of the morning, the French coastguard said.

The first group of people were pulled from the water at 1.15am local time (12.15am GMT) in the French-led operation, with 66 rescued and taken to safety within an hour.

The crossings were the first to take place in a fortnight, with the Government last recording arrivals on December 3, when 118 people entered the country.

Saturday’s figures bring the total number of people arriving via the English Channel this year to 29,382, compared with 45,195 people last year on this date.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Home Secretary James Cleverly described the migrant’s death as a “horrific reminder of the people smugglers’ brutality”.

About 25,000 people have been “averted from crossing this year – but we must and will do more”, he said, adding: “My thanks to all those involved in the rescue. Every boat stopped is a potential life saved.”