It comes as French authorities rescued some 200 people off the coast of Calais over a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday night.
At least eight migrants have died off the coast of France while attempting to cross the English Channel – as new data reveals 801 people arrived on the UK’s shores yesterday.
The latest government figures show those who arrived made their journey on Saturday in 14 boats.
It is the second-highest number of arrivals this year. The current record for the highest number of arrivals in one day this year so far is 882 in 15 boats on 18 June.
The deaths occurred after a vessel “tore apart on the rocks” off Ambleteuse in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France overnight, a regional official said.
Some 51 survivors of the disaster were rescued. Six were taken to hospital, including a 10-month-old baby suffering from hypothermia.
“Driven by profit, human traffickers are putting more and more lives at risk, selling crossings in dangerous conditions on ill-suited boats,” the official, Jacques Billant, said. “This is literally leading them to their deaths.
“The boats are overloaded, of poor quality, underinflated, without proper flooring, underpowered, and lack life jackets for all passengers.”
Only one in six people on the boat had a life jacket, he added.
It comes as French authorities rescued some 200 people off the coast of Calais over a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday night.
A boat carrying migrants that was in poor condition was located off the coast of Le Portel, a French coastal town, and 55 people were rescued.
Elsewhere, 61 people were picked up off the coast of La Becque d’Hardelot, 48 people were recovered near a lighthouse and at the end of the day 36 more were rescued, French authorities said.
All of those rescued were brought back to land.
French authorities said they monitored 18 attempts to launch boats across the Channel on Saturday.
