Image source, Getty ImagesAn inflatable small boat pictured in April 2026
BySimon Jones and Maia Davies
Four people died trying to cross the Channel overnight after the busiest day for small-boat crossings so far this year saw 752 arrivals in the UK.
One man died after a vessel capsized off France’s northern coast late on Wednesday, local officials said, with a one-year-old child among those hurt.
Eight hours later three people were found dead aboard a small boat early on Thursday after launching from Dunkirk overnight, some 100km (62 miles) up the coast.
French officials confirmed their deaths as the Home Office reported that Wednesday had the highest number of crossings in a single day this year, with nine boats reaching the UK.
Local authorities in France said the first boat capsized off the coast at Hardelot around 23:30 local time (21:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
The man is thought to have been in his thirties or forties, officials added. Six other people including the child sustained minor injuries.
Local officials said the vessel was a “taxi” boat – vessels which cruise along the coast and pick up their paying customers who are waiting in the sea.
Security officials “neutralised” the boat and an investigation into the incident has been launched.
The second boat launched from the Dunkirk area overnight and was spotted near a breakwater off the coast at 06:00, the French coastguard said.
Search and rescue officials subsequently found three unconscious people on board. Their deaths were later confirmed by emergency medical personnel.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Every death in the Channel is a tragedy and a stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit.”
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How many people cross the English Channel in small boats?
Between 1 January and 29 July 2026, a total of 14,128 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France. This was down by 42% on the same period the previous year.
These crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.
Nearly all those who arrive by small boat claim asylum. Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered.
Small boat arrivals made up 42% of asylum applications between April 2025 to March 2026.
Boats that arrived in the UK from 30 July 2025 to 29 July 2026 carried an average of 67 people. This has more than doubled since 2021.
Experts say overcrowding in boats makes crossings riskier. At least 84 people died while attempting to cross the Channel in 2024, according to the United Nations (UN).
When looking at the scale of small boats crossings, the number of these arrivals is about 5% of the size of total immigration into the UK from January 2025 to December 2025.
The government has pledged to “smash the gangs” behind these crossings in order to reduce the numbers.
Who is arriving in the UK on small boats?
People from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all arrivals from April 2025 to March 2026.
In the latest figures covering January 2025 to December 2025, at least 2,000 people who arrived by small boat were found to be potential victims of human trafficking or other forms of modern slavery, according to the Home Office.
How else do people stay in the UK without permission?
Another 4,535 people were detected entering the UK without permission via other methods including hiding in vehicles, travelling on ferries or through airports from April 2025 to March 2026. This was down by 22% on the same period the previous year.
There are also individuals who arrive legally, for example via a work or study visa, and then overstay their limit.
The total number of people who live in the UK illegally after arriving legally is not known.
A total of 162 people died in the English Channel between 2018 and 2025, according to the University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory.
Small-boat crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.
Wednesday’s 752 arrivals bring the year’s total provisional figure to 14,128, which is 42% lower than the number recorded by this time last year.
A record 165 migrants reached the UK in a single boat last week. Border Security Command was pictured towing a mega dinghy – estimated to be the same size as a standard bus at 13m (42ft) long – when it arrived in Dover on 23 July.
The Home Office has said its new £662m deal with France, signed in April, curbed dangerous crossings by “boosting enforcement action on beaches”.
