‘There really is no limit now,’ the director of the French national sea rescue service said.
A record 230 people arrived on a single vessel (Image: SNSM)
France’s lifeboat service has warned there is “no limit” to the number of migrants people smugglers will put on a boat to Britain. The director of the French national sea rescue service (SNSM) of Berck-sur-Mer, Jean-Marc Lamblin said that “over the past three months, we’ve been seeing more and more” 15-metre lifeboats. He added: “We broke the 150 mark not long ago; we didn’t think there could be any more, but there really is no limit now.”
A record 230 people travelled on a single vessel to Britain and arrived in the early hours of Monday. This marks the largest number to make the journey in a single vessel. A photograph taken in northern France shows the 15-metre-long (49ft) inflatable vessel packed so tightly that several passengers were forced to sit with their legs hanging over the sides
The number of people on board surpassed the previous record of 165 (Image: SNSM)
The boat was intercepted by Border Force, HM Coastguard and the RNLI after reaching British waters, setting a new record by carrying more people than the previous high of 165 migrants recorded on a single crossing in July.
SNSM in Berck-sur-Mer explained that passengers boarded the vessel in several successive waves in a “mass movement at the time of boarding”, which posed a “major risk” given that many passengers “cannot swim”, TF1 reports. It described “a true human tide” that surged onto an “inflatable boat of around 15 metres.”
“Due to the overloading, several people were thrown from the boat. Around 30 of them ended up in the water whilst the boat continued on its way.”
The rescuers added: “The coordination of all the resources deployed helped to avert a tragedy.”
A Home Office spokesperson said on Monday: “This latest incident demonstrates the reckless and dangerous tactics employed by the criminal gangs facilitating these crossings, who continue to put lives at risk by cramming ever greater numbers of people on to unseaworthy vessels.
“We are making progress, with the number of small-boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020. But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”
Last Tuesday, 173 migrants were rescued from a single boat after the vessel caught fire while attempting to cross the Channel.
A provisional 15,242 people have crossed the Channel so far this year, representing a 43% fall compared with the same period in 2025. The number of boats successfully making the journey has also dropped by 49%.
The Home Office recorded its lowest July total for Channel crossings since 2020 last month, the BBC reports.