London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – In the latest figures, there were more than 28,000 crossings – up slightly from last year, but down from 2022.
More than 600 people travelled the Channel in small vessels, the day after a baby perished on the journey. Home Office figures indicate 647 people made the crossing in 10 boats, forcing the total for the year above 28,000.
Crossings came after French authorities reported the death of a baby off the coast of Wissant in the Pas-de-Calais area. It was the 45th death registered by French coastguards so far this year, with refugee charities cautioning the Channel crossings were becoming more difficult.
Why are migrants risking dangerous Channel crossings?
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, expressed there had been more casualties this year than in the previous three years combined. He stated: “This procession of death and tragedy guides we need to rethink our approach. Lives will continue to be lost if we carry on as it is.”
The growing deadliness of the Channel does not seem to have deterred people from trying the crossing to Kent. These crossings take the total number of people who have created the journey this year to 28,204, almost 8% more elevated than at the same point last year but 25% down on the peak year of 2022. Since Labour came to authority, 14,630 people have made the crossing, nearly exactly the total for the same period last year and 10,000 more irregularly than in the same period in 2022.
Moreover, in September nearly 200 migrants set off from French shores and a pregnant woman and six children were among 12 migrants were perished after their sailboat “ripped” open while crossing the English Channel. They were among more than 60 individuals who had been crammed onto a sailboat less than seven metres long.
Calais charity worker Angele Vettorello, co-ordinator at Utopia 56, stated she saw 200 people trying to travel who had been halted by police. The crossings, it’s not going to quit,” she said. “We see it every month … every death at the border, the people don’t stop crossing.”