More than 700 migrants crossed the English Channel on Saturday bringing the total for the year so far to 40,029 and ending a 28-day run of no vessels making the crossing.
A total of 11 boats carrying 737 people made the crossing on December 13, according to Home Office figures.
The last time more than 40,000 migrants crossed in a year was in 2022 when the total for the year was 45,755, with the total for 2023 being 29,347 and 36,816 for 2024.
The period of 28 days without migrant boats is the longest uninterrupted run since 2018.
The French Maritime Prefect said it had received reports of several migrant vessels departing on Saturday.
At about 10.50am, four people are reported to have fallen in the sea in the Sangatte area. They were recovered from the water, all four of them suffering from hypothermia.
At 2.14pm, another small boat suffered from engine failure and 28 migrants were recovered before the vessel restarted and continued its journey across the Channel.
The prefect said in a statement: “Given the structural fragility of systematically overloaded boats, the choice is made not to force migrants to embark on the (French) state’s rescue means, to avoid endangering their lives in the event of a shipwreck.”
