More than 170 migrants were rescued from the English Channel on Tuesday after their dinghy’s engine caught fire and it capsized.
The “mega dinghy” has been confirmed as the largest small boat to attempt to cross from France, with 173 migrants on board.
French vessels, two British Border Security Command boats, and an RNLI lifeboat rushed to help the migrants, who were still in the French search and rescue region.
There were no reported fatalities, the British government said.
The total number on the boat broke the previous record of 165 who reached the UK late last month in a 13-metre (42ft) boat dubbed a “mega dinghy” by the media. The previous record, in the same month, was 128 people.
The migrants were taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France – 54 of them on board the British vessels.
In a translated statement, French authorities said that the decision was initially made not to force the migrants to board rescue vessels to “avoid endangering their lives”.
A UK government spokesperson said: “This morning, the Border Security Command was alerted to an incident in the Channel concerning a migrant small boat in distress in French waters.
“British vessels supported a French search and rescue operation. This is a live rescue operation but at this stage there have been no fatalities reported. Those on board will be safely returned to France.
“This incident underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings. We continue to work relentlessly with the French and our partners overseas to prevent these perilous journeys.”
A Coastguard spokesperson said: “A vessel caught fire earlier this morning whilst in the French search and rescue region. UK vessels and a lifeboat are assisting.”
An RNLI spokesperson said that Eastbourne’s all-weather lifeboat launched at 6am on Tuesday.
The number of people on the dinghy, which left the beach at Veules-les-Roses, near Dieppe, on Monday night, makes it one of the biggest ever to attempt to cross the English Channel.
The Tuesday incident came a day after Reform UK proposed using the Royal Navy to return migrants to France or Belgium under a plan called “operation fortress”.
The party has described the scheme as a humanitarian response.
Responding on X, party leader Nigel Farage said: “We must put a stop to this. Our plan will save lives.”
Deputy leader Richard Tice said: “Just like Reform policy: rescue and return.
“It’s the humanitarian thing to do. We must stop people dying.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “This is why it’s so wrong that French police stand by and do nothing while the illegal migrant boats embark – lives are being risked.”
Last Wednesday marked the busiest day for small boat crossings in the English Channel so far this year, with 752 migrants arriving in the UK.
However, the number of overall arrivals for 2026 has dropped since last year.
The provisional total for the year is 14,526, 43 per cent lower than the number recorded by this time last year (25,436) and down 14 per cent on the same period in 2024 (16,903).
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