Border Force Seizes Yacht as Channel Crossing Continues – The Irish News

Small boat crossings continued on Saturday after border guards appeared to have seized a yacht following an incident in the Channel.

On Saturday, the Border Force vessel Hurricane was seen towing the small boat to Dover and then securing it in the harbour.

Crossings are usually undertaken by rowing boat, but rarely is a yacht used.

The ship also brought an unknown number of migrants to Dover, while the number of migrants attempting the crossing was estimated to be in the hundreds.

Since Monday, 1,157 people have been rescued from the Channel after setting out in small boats. In the same period, two people have died crossing the Channel.

Last week, four more people died in the Channel as the weather improved and more people crossed the river.

Figures from the Home Office show that 413 people crossed the Channel in seven small boats on Friday, taking the total so far this year to 15,489.

That is about 10% more than the number of border crossings at the same time last year and 0.1% more than the number of crossings in the same period in 2022, the year with the most border crossings ever so far.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We all want an end to dangerous Channel crossings, which undermine border security and endanger lives.

“The new Government is taking steps to improve our border security by establishing a new Border Security Command that will bring together our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terrorism powers and hundreds of staff based in the UK and abroad to help defeat criminal smuggling gangs that are making millions in profits.”