A boat carrying more than 150 migrants departed from Berck-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) on Thursday, the day the French Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed the discovery of a man's body, possibly Sudanese, on the beach of Berck.
A boat carrying more than 150 migrants departed from Berck-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) on Thursday, the day the French Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed the discovery of a man's body, possibly Sudanese, on the beach of Berck.
The station of the National Maritime Rescue Society (SNSM) in Berck intervened on Thursday at 06:25 (05:25 in Lisbon) to assist the struggling boat, which was heading towards England. Jean-Marc Lamblin, head of the station, reported that there were over 150 passengers on board, a record number. Despite already showing damage at the time of boarding, the vessel managed to reach British waters, Lamblin added.
According to the British news agency Press Association, this 13-meter 'mega-boat' carried 165 passengers. Throughout Thursday, British authorities reported the arrival of three vessels in their waters, totaling 366 migrants, representing an average of over 120 people per vessel.
An investigation has been opened into the body found, aiming to determine if the death is linked to the departure of a boat that collected people on the beach of Berck, near the discovery site, explained the prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Cécile Gressier. According to the same source, the deceased may be a 38-year-old Sudanese national.
Generally, illegal crossings of the English Channel registered a decrease of over 40% compared to the same period last year in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, London has pressured French authorities to adopt a stricter stance at the border, including at sea, although international conventions prevent interventions that put lives at risk.
In this scenario, the British Home Office mentioned that French security forces have conducted six interceptions of migrant boats at sea in the last two months. Lamblin also noted that traffickers are increasing the size of the vessels used to transport asylum seekers to England, which usually measure between 8 or 10 meters.
Two weeks ago, a boat had already completed the crossing with 128 people, setting a new record, according to British media outlets. A spokesperson for the Home Office, without confirming specific numbers, told the France-Presse agency that migrant trafficking networks are operating more dangerously than ever, increasing the annual number of individuals crammed onto unseaworthy boats. The total number of arrivals reached 13,007 since January 1st, and approximately 200,000 since the start of small boat crossings in 2018.
On Friday, 225 migrants arrived in England on three vessels, according to data from the UK Home Office, cited by the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).
According to the BBC, one of the vessels carried 128 people, exceeding the previous record of 125 people recorded in September 2025. A representative of the Home Office told AFP that migrant smuggling networks are facing unprecedented risks as the number of people crammed into unseaworthy vessels grows year by year.
Nevertheless, the Home Office reported that the number of migrants reaching the United Kingdom after crossing the English Channel has decreased by 41% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2025. From January to date, 12,439 people have arrived in the UK via sea routes.
In April, the UK government concluded a three-year agreement with French authorities, providing 771 million euros (£662 million) to finance the patrolling of beaches from which these makeshift vessels depart. Furthermore, the Labour government introduced a bill in Parliament at the beginning of this month aimed at reforming the asylum and immigration system. This project is led by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and its goal is to curb immigration and accelerate deportations.
