So far this year more than 1,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats including three people who made their own boat and crossed the Channel on 10 February.
One person has died trying to cross the Channel in a small boat that sank off the coast of Calais, while 69 were rescued during what French authorities said was a very busy night for crossings.
A statement from the French maritime prefecture for the Channel and the North Sea said the Channel was particularly dangerous in the middle of winter for precarious and overloaded boats, as it was a busy shipping lane with difficult weather conditions.
The small boat began to take in water before French navy ship Abeille Normandie rescued the 70 people on board.
Utopia 56, a French organisation that supports migrants in northern France posted on X about Saturday’s death, describing it as a “harmful consequence” of government policies to stop small boats from crossing the Channel.
