UK Reports Record 752 Migrants Crossing Channel in Small Boats

Kathmandu. The British government informed on Thursday that 752 migrants entered through the channel in small boats on Wednesday. This is the highest number of migrants to cross the channel and enter Britain in a single day this year. The number released by the British Home Office broke the previous record of 710 migrants in a single day in June 2026. The gradual increase in tens of thousands of irregular migrants arriving in small boats every year has been troubling British governments. This has increased support for the far-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage. According to the Home Office, the number of migrants crossing the channel in the first half of 2026 has decreased by 41 percent compared to the same period last year. Britain's ruling Labour Party claims that its policy of stopping migrant flows through better cooperation with European neighbors is working. The Reform Party claims that the decline in the number of people crossing the channel is mainly due to adverse weather conditions at the beginning of the year. To discourage migrants, British authorities have also started prosecuting migrants who help operate small boats. This is a risky journey on one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Earlier this year, a teenager from South Sudan appeared in a court in southeastern England on charges of endangering lives by operating an overcrowded boat carrying 167 people this month. He has denied being in command of the boat. Meanwhile, French authorities said on Thursday that four migrants died in two separate attempts to cross the channel on Thursday morning and Wednesday night.