More than 45,700 migrants crossed the English Channel on small boats in record year 2022

Almost 46,000 migrants crossed the English Channel on small boats in 2022 – 1,295 of them arrived in one day, according to government figures.

A total of 45,728 asylum seekers made the perilous journey across the 21-mile Straits of Dover in 1,104 boats in 2022 – an average of 41 people per ship.

In August, 8,641 people arrived in the UK on inflatable boats or other small boats – the most migrants to reach the UK in a month.

And the busiest day came on August 22, when 1,295 migrants arrived in the UK in 24 hours.

A total of 45,728 asylum seekers made the perilous journey across the 21-mile Straits of Dover in 1,104 boats last year – an average of 41 people per boat (Pictured: group of people believed to be migrants arrested by the RNLI after an incident involving a small boat in New York were rescued from the Channel in December)

On December 14, four people died in the English Channel when a boat carrying 43 migrants sank in the early hours of the morning.

British and French authorities launched an international rescue operation after the crew of a British fishing boat heard calls for help from the water around 3am.

The fishermen, who discovered an empty dinghy and several people in the icy water, tried desperately to help the survivors on board their trawler.

Two asylum seekers were flown to hospital after battling freezing conditions in the water, but despite authorities’ efforts, four men – who have not yet been identified – died in the tragic incident.

Kent Police continue to investigate to identify the migrants and their next of kin. It is believed that they came from Afghanistan and Senegal.

The force has also launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances of her death.

In August, 8,641 people arrived in the UK on rubber dinghies or other small boats – the most migrants to reach the UK in a month (pictured: a group of people believed to be migrants who boarded a Border Force vessel to Dover, Kent (a small boat incident in the English Channel in March)

The number of migrants crossing borders in 2022 has dwarfed the total of 28,526 in 2021 and 2020, when just 8,410 people made the treacherous journey.

The last asylum seekers to arrive last year arrived on December 25 when 90 people were intercepted in two boats by British officers off the coast of Dover, Kent.

This month, the Ministry of Defense will return responsibility for small boat crossings to the Home Office – after

This will result in the Royal Navy being withdrawn from the English Channel and subcontractors being used to assist Border Force officers in intercepting and processing migrants.