Record Surge: Over 800 Migrants Cross English Channel in Single Day, Marking New 2024 High

Record-breaking day for Channel crossings as over 800 migrants reach UK

In a significant surge, over 800 migrants have successfully crossed the English Channel and arrived in the UK, setting a new single-day record for 2024. This is the largest number of crossings in one day since 2022.

Wednesday, June 19, 2024, 1:

On Tuesday, a record-breaking total of 882 individuals made the journey across the English Channel, marking the highest daily number of crossings this year.

The latest statistics from the Home Office show a new record has been set, surpassing the earlier 2024 high of 711 arrivals. This is the largest single-day total since 29 November 2022, when 947 individuals were recorded arriving.

The Home Office reported that 15 vessels completed the crossing, indicating an average of approximately 59 individuals per vessel.

On only two occasions in the past year have 15 boats crossed on the same day, with the most recent instance occurring on September 2, 2023.

As of 2024, the count of individuals arriving via small boats has reached an interim figure of 12,313, marking an 18% increase from the 10,472 recorded at the same time the previous year.

It has increased by 5% compared to the same point last year, when it was 11,690.

In 2023, the total number of arrivals stood at 29,437, representing a 36% decrease from the 2022 record of 45,774 arrivals.

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The administration has pledged to halt the arrival of small boats, although it has clarified that this does not imply there will be no crossings at all.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has not specified a target figure for their goal.

Since Mr. Sunak assumed the role of Prime Minister in October 2022, there have been nearly 50,000 crossings, with the current count at 49,376.

Discover further: The perilous journeys migrants take from Vietnam to Europe. People trafficker reconciles with the possibility of death while working.

Since the announcement of the general election on May 22, over 2,000 individuals have made the crossing, totaling 2,431 arrivals, as immigration becomes a central issue in the campaign.

According to statistics gathered since the beginning of 2018, the recent migration surge has seen a total of 126,658 individuals entering the UK via the Channel crossing over a period of six and a half years.

Approximately 81,677 individuals have embarked on the trip since the administration reached an agreement in April 2022 to deport migrants to Rwanda, an arrangement that has since been delayed.

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Early on Tuesday morning, it is reported that approximately 85 migrants were saved from small vessels in the English Channel.

A spokesperson from the Home Office stated on Tuesday: "Our ongoing collaboration with our French counterparts is focused on preventing crossings and preserving lives."

A representative from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency stated that they were managing the operations in response to the incident of small boats navigating across the Channel on Tuesday morning.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution announced, "On Tuesday, June 18, lifeboats from both Dover and Dungeness were dispatched to handle emergencies in the Channel."

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