The English Channel migrant crisis by numbers

Latest tragedy a desperate but almost inevitable consequence of increasing numbers of illegal crossings made in unsuitable vessels

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  Migrants are brought ashore at Dungeness by RNLI Lifeboat members after crossing the Channel. Reuters

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  The past three years have seen a significant rise in attempted Channel crossings by migrants, despite the dangers. AFP

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  Migrants on board a Border Force rescue boat line up to disembark at Dover harbour after crossing the Channel. Reuters

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  A life jacket is left in the water after a group of more than 40 migrants got on an inflatable dinghy to leave the coast of northern France and cross the Channel. Reuters

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  Migrants are escorted by Border Force staff in Dungeness, after being brought ashore by an RNLI lifeboat. Reuters

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  A woman with a child is brought ashore safely. Reuters

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  Migrants walk along a British beach after being brought ashore by an RNLI lifeboat. Reuters

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  At least 27 migrants bound for Britain died on Wednesday when their boat sank in the English Channel. AP

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  French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin speaks to the press in Calais, northern France, after the tragedy. AP

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  France's interior minister has called it the biggest tragedy involving migrants on the dangerous crossing to date. AP

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  A man wheels a gurney into a warehouse in Calais, where it is believed the bodies of migrants are being transported. PA

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  French police look at a map of the coast at Wimereux, in northern France. The stretch of beach is believed to be used by migrants aiming to cross the Channel. PA

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  A funeral van leaves the port of Calais. AFP

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  A group of people thought to be migrants are brought to Dover by the RNLI. PA

Tragedy struck the English Channel on Wednesday as at least 27 migrants drowned in a doomed attempt to reach the UK.

It was the biggest single loss of life in the Channel since the International Organisation for Migration began tracking the data in 2014.

The dead included 17 men, seven women and three young people, French authorities said.

Fourteen migrants had drowned making the crossing this year, so Wednesday's known fatalities were nearly double this figure.

To put the strain on the route into perspective, 671 migrants were stopped from crossing the Dover Strait by French authorities on Wednesday alone, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

UK Home Office figures suggest a record 25,000-plus migrants have attempted the crossing this year, although French authorities believe the figure to be nearer 31,000, with 7,800 rescued at sea.

There is a difference between attempted and successful crossings and the 669 migrants who successfully crossed the Channel on Sunday took the total who have arrived in small boats to 17,085 for the year to date, UK Home Office data shows. This is more than double the 8,417 who successfully made the crossing in the entirety of 2020.

Although figures are not readily available on the number of unaccompanied child migrants who have successfully crossed, it is believed that more than 100 are living in hotels due to a shortage of places in children's homes.

The monthly number of crossings in 2021 rose steadily until September, when it reached 4,653. The trend bucked in October when only 2,669 made the journey, but to date the figure for November has reached a hefty 6,665, Migration Watch UK said.

It is thus perhaps unsurprising the daily record for the number of illegal Channel crossings has been broken twice this month. On November 3, a total of 853 people made the crossing but this was eclipsed by the 1,885 people who crossed on November 12 – the first time the number had exceeded 1,000 for a day.

The illegal journeys across the Channel are made in small vessels, from boats to dinghies and kayaks, frequently packed with far more migrants than is safe. In such perilous conditions, the only surprise is that tragedies like Wednesday's are relatively infrequent.

"Allowing our borders to be uncontrolled and unsecured means those being exploited by people smugglers are put in danger and public safety in the UK is undermined," said Dr Benedict Greening, executive director of Migration Watch UK.

"This has all been completely avoidable. We have warned about this danger repeatedly for months."

While the Channel crossings have become a cause celebre, the attention they have drawn does not convey the full picture.

The number of small boats traversing the Dover Strait may be rising, but in 2020 overall asylum applications in the UK actually fell to 29,456.

Compared with a peer like France, which received 93,475 applications in the same year, this number is relatively small.