A MIGRANT has died trying to cross the Channel in a small boat this morning.
French authorities have launched a rescue operation in their waters off the coast of Hardelot after at least one vessel got into difficulty.
AFPA previous small boat crossing the Channel[/caption]
Warm weather saw the first attempted crossings since March 10 after eight straight days of no boats.
The French coastguard responded to reports of two people in the water, and have since confirmed one has died.
No British ships have been deployed to the rescue operation but officials are monitoring the situation.
Sunny weather with calm seas are known in the Home Office as “red days” as they tend to correlate with increased boat crossings.
A warm spell earlier this month saw 10 days of unbroken boat journeys with 2,339 migrants arriving in Britain.
So far more than 4,000 migrants have made the dangerous crossing this year, with the numbers expected to rise further in spring and summer.
Crossings are becoming more dangerous as smuggling gangs pack more people into each boat – as many as 60 and often without life jackets.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged millions more for a new Border Security Command and struck deals with third countries to tackle the flow upstream.
The Tories have said that her plans are doomed without a deterrent like their axed Rwanda plan.
More than 150,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since the crisis began in 2018.
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