The French coastguard has rescued 45 migrants in the Channel after the boat they were using to try to get to the UK got into difficulty.
A search and rescue operation was launched on Tuesday afternoon off the coast of Pas-de-Calais, according to a translation of a statement from the Prefecture maritime de la manche et de la mer du Nord.
A separate group including a woman and a baby then made it to Dover, with pictures showing Border Force officers bringing them ashore.
Before the incidents, no migrants had crossed the Channel to the UK for a fortnight amid bad weather conditions.
A group of migrants are pictured being brought into Dover by Border Force officers last night, after the French coastguard has rescued 45 migrants in the Channel in a separate incident earlier on Tuesday
The group arriving at Dover included a woman and a baby and other children. Above: Some of the migrants are seen in life jackets
Those rescued off the coast of France were brought to Calais and met by emergency services and police, an official statement said.
Conditions are particularly perilous in winter when freezing temperatures can kill people within minutes if they end up tossed into the sea.
The 14-day hiatus between January 3 and January 16 was the longest stretch without any arrivals for several months.
Before yesterday’s arrival, the only crossing recorded by the Ministry of Defence was on January 2 when 44 people made the journey in one boat.
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Photos taken last night show migrants including women, children and a baby being brought ashore
The migrants who arrived yesterday are seen walking into Dover Marina after their crossing from France
Last month, four migrants died when the dinghy they were travelling in deflated. Thirty-nine survivors, including 12 children had to be rescued.
Detectives have since launched an investigation into the tragedy.
It emerged earlier this month that migrants could face an automatic ban on making asylum claims under tough measures being drawn up by the Home Secretary.
Suella Braverman is set to change the law so that every migrant who has passed through a safe country – such as France – will have applications for refugee status declared void.
They could then face ‘rapid removal’ from Britain.
Lat year, a record 45,728 migrants arrived from Franc in 1,104 boats. This figure dwarfed the 28,526 who came in 2021.
Ms Braverman revealed last year that housing asylum seekers will cost £3.5billion this year, up from £2.1billion in the previous 12 months.
