Migrants cross the English Channel on an inflatable boat heading towards Dover, on the south coast of England, on April 5, 2023. (Credit: AFP.)
184 people who were attempting to cross the English Channel to reach England clandestinely aboard small boats were rescued between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon in the Strait of Dover, French maritime authorities said Sunday.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 15 people have died in the Channel, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
The latest, a woman and a child, died off Calais on the night of May 20 to 21, following a series of other deadly shipwrecks and incidents.
In 2024, 78 migrants died in these dangerous crossings of the Franco-British border, a record since the beginning of this phenomenon in the region in 2018.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in mid-May plans to consider "return centers" outside the United Kingdom for rejected asylum seekers, a formula similar to that envisioned by the EU.
Under pressure with the rise of the far-right Reform UK party, the Labour leader has pledged to reduce both regular and irregular immigration to the United Kingdom.
Some 36,800 migrants reached England last year, primarily Afghans, Syrians, and Iranians. And nearly 13,000 since January, more than last year during the same period.
