Migrants rescued in Dutch waters as 1600 reach UK coast

Thirty-eight migrants have been rescued after a small boat was found drifting off the Dutch coast, authorities say.

It comes as Home Office figures show more than 1,600 people have landed in the UK in four days after crossing the Channel.

This year there have been launches from a wider stretch of coast from Belgium to Normandy in France, usually bound for Kent.

The government said that overall crossings were down significantly this year.

Traditionally, small boats set off from the coastal areas near Calais and Dunkirk towards Dover and surrounding areas.

However, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee police service said a vessel was discovered near Cadzand off the southern coast on Saturday.

The inflatable boat was left drifting without power, in a "very dangerous" situation that prompted the authorities to act, a spokesperson said.

Remco Van Schellen, who presents the regional radio station Omroep Zeeland said the vessel's motor had stopped working.

"[The passengers] were cold of course, six of them were minors.

"When you leave the shores in Dunkirk or Calais, you're just on the other side of the English Channel, but from our shores or Belgium, it's pretty far away", he added.

Police are investigating where the boat came from and two men have been detained on suspicion of people smuggling.

Earlier this year the BBC reported on a sudden rise in small boats setting off from Belgium.

More recently a vessel spent more than 30 hours at sea after setting off from Cherbourg.

Dr Peter Walsh, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory, previously said it was highly plausible the longer routes were due to police disrupting boat launches in northern France.

"It's not at all optimal for these boats to set off so far away from their intended destination," he said.

On Thursday, 263 people arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel, with 671 on Friday, 259 on Saturday and 477 were brought to Dover on Sunday.

The arrivals followed a three-week period of stormy weather during which no crossings were recorded.

The government said this year had seen the lowest number of summer arrivals – a period when journeys often rise in part due to the warmer weather – since 2020.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "The boats keep coming, the smugglers keep operating and Labour keeps making excuses."

Despite a drop in the overall number of boats crossing this year, some have contained a larger number of people on board.

In August one carried 230 people, the largest number to make the journey in a single vessel.

There are also estimates that several thousand people are living in two camps between Calais and Dunkirk.

Last month Duncan Capps CBE, interim border security commander at the Home Office told the Home Affairs Select Committee: "I think the French estimate at the moment is that there are almost 3,800 people between those two camps."

A Home Office spokesperson said:

"Joint efforts with international partners have prevented over 50,000 crossing attempts and seized 1,100 boats and engines since the election.

"But we must go further. That's why we are boosting the number of officers on the ground in France and removing the pull factors drawing people here through illegal and dangerous routes."

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