Four migrants died on Thursday while attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain, as small-boat arrivals reached their busiest single day of 2026.
Three women were found unresponsive on a boat near Dunkirk at about 6 a.m., while a man died after his dinghy capsized off the coast near Boulogne-sur-Mer in a separate incident. A woman rescued from the water near Hardelot pleaded to rejoin her family on a departing migrant boat. A man in his forties died and six others, including a one-year-old, were hospitalized after a separate capsizing the previous evening.
The deaths came a day after 752 people arrived in the UK, the highest daily total this year. Total arrivals in 2026 stand at 13,376, down 45% on the same period last year. More than 900 migrants have crossed since Andy Burnham became prime minister in late July, despite a £662 million agreement with France signed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to clear beaches.