Number of migrants crossing Channel believed to have hit 10,000 for year so far

24 May 2024 • 8:10 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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More than 10,000 migrants are thought to have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel.

Groups of migrants, including several children, were seen being brought ashore in Dover, Kent, on Friday amid warm, sunny and clear weather conditions at sea.

As of Wednesday, 9,882 people had made the journey from France, according to provisional Home Office figures.

Data for Thursday is yet to be published.

Witnesses told the PA news agency one lifeboat arrived carrying around 40 people, with another 40 on board a Border Force boat.

A second Border Force vessel is believed to have been carrying at least 50 people.

This suggests around 130 migrants arrived in the UK on Friday, indicating the number crossing the Channel for 2024 to date has now hit 10,000.