Dozens more migrants arrive in UK as traffickers take advantage of calm conditions: Total crossing Channel on small boats hits 43,400 – with more than 3,500 people making journey in November
- Number of migrants to have reached UK in small boats has surpassed 43,400
- On Tuesday, 884 migrants were intercepted during 17 English Channel crossings
- Some 3,571 people have braved the treacherous crossing in November alone
The number of migrants to have reached the UK crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year has now surpassed 43.400, according to official government figures.
It came after 884 migrants were intercepted in 17 separate incidents on Tuesday.
The official total now stands at 43,472 with a month to go until the end of the year – dwarfing the 28,526 who made the crossing in the whole of 2021.
Some 3,571 people have braved the treacherous crossing of the busiest shipping lanes in the world in November alone.
On Tuesday, 884 migrants were intercepted during 17 English Channel crossings
Yesterday, a Border Force vessel brought a large group of around 40 people into the harbour at Dover with limited visibility
And dozens more migrants have already made it across the Channel today as traffickers took advantage of flat calm conditions at sea.
Around 40 migrants were brought ashore on a Border Force vessel around 5am this morning – after crossing the Channel in darkness.
The group, which appeared to be mainly men, were brought ashore wrapped in blue blankets and wearing face masks at the harbour in Dover in darkness.
Then around 9.30am the Border Force vessel Typhoon brought in as many as 60 people with more crossings expected today.
The number of migrants to have crossed the English Channel in small boats to the UK so far this year has now surpassed 43.400, according to official government figures.
On Tuesday, despite thick early morning fog, 17 dinghies with an average of 52 people on each boat left the French coast heading across the 21-mile Dover Straits to Kent.
Royal Navy, Border Force and RNLI lifeboats were all dispatched to the middle of the English Channel as people smugglers take advantage of the clearing weather.
A Border Force vessel brought a large group of around 40 people into the harbour at Dover with limited visibility.
Many of the mainly male group were wrapped in blankets to protect them from the cold.
A Border Force vessel brought a large group of around 40 people into the harbour at Dover with limited visibility
They were brought ashore around 9am at the former jetfoil terminal in the western docks before it is expected they are moved to the Manston processing centre near Ramsgate, Kent.
The Border Force vessel Hurricane has also brought at least two groups of people into the harbour at Ramsgate.
Border Force patrol boat Ranger was also out at sea.
The Dover and Deal RNLI lifeboats have also responded to incidents in the channel while Royal Navy vessels HMS Explorer, HMS Severn, HMS Ranger were also positioned in the middle of the Channel overseeing operations.
It comes after a further 426 arrived in small boats on Monday despite choppy conditions at sea according to official numbers.
An average of 60 to 61 people were crammed into just seven flimsy inflatable boats.
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