More migrants cross English Channel as total for year nears 30,000

Young children wrapped in blankets among those brought ashore on lifeboats

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dungeness, Kent, on Wednesday by the RNLI after a small boat was intercepted in the English Channel. PA

Dozens of migrants were brought ashore to Britain on Wednesday morning as the total number of people making the dangerous crossing over the English Channel this year nears 30,000.

Pictures showed young children swathed in blankets among those helped to shore at Dungeness, Kent, in calm conditions.

People wearing winter coats, some carrying youngsters, climbed down a ladder from a packed lifeboat and on to the beach in the south of England. They then boarded buses and were taken to be processed.

The number of arrivals so far in 2022 suggests the 30,000 milestone could be reached by the end of the day.

A total of 93 people were recorded by the Ministry of Defence making the journey in four boats on Tuesday, taking the provisional number to 29,799 — higher than for the whole of last year (28,526).

Last week nearly 40 people were rescued from the Channel when their boat sank off the Kent coast.

Government officials last month said it was remarkable there had not been any serious incidents, such as drownings, this year as the average number of people per boat rose to 44, compared with 28 in 2021.