Nearly 600 people made the trip Thursday, a new record for a single day. More than 11,000 migrants have made the perilous journey through the Strait of Pas de Calais on small boats this year alone, according to PA.
According to Home Office figures, they intercepted or rescued at least 592 people trying to reach Kent’s beaches on Thursday.
French authorities intercepted at least 155 people on the same day.
This broke the previous record set last week, August 4, when 482 people crossed the UK.
On Thursday, a group of 40 migrants were rescued by French and Belgian authorities with the help of two fishing boats when their vessel began to sink.
READ MORE: France launches investigation after migrant dies after ship sinks in Channel
The remaining passengers were transported to the port of Dunkirk, with other rescue operations underway.
The tragic events that took place on Thursday did not deter people from making the trip on Friday. The Home Office reported that 25 people crossed the Channel on a single boat.
Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, told The Guardian: “The government’s relentless desire to lift the drawbridge without creating more avenues to safety leaves desperate refugees with little choice but to put their lives in between. the hands of smugglers.
“And the cruel and unenforceable anti-refugee bill is pure political theater that does not seek to improve our asylum system or address the root causes of the Channel crossings.
“Ministers must reject this extreme bill and instead design an efficient and fair asylum system that creates more pathways to safety, such as family reunification, and a long-term resettlement program that accommodates 10,000 refugees.” per year.
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This notice was published: 2021-08-14 05:07:43
