400 More Illegal Boat Migrants Land

The people-smuggling trade operating on both sides of the English Channel has claimed its first life of the year, as another 400 illegal migrants have landed on English soil in the past two days.

French authorities have confirmed that a migrant in his twenties drowned on Friday morning after falling off a migrant trafficking boat off the coast of Berck-sur-Mer in the region of Calais.

Another thirty young male migrants were rescued by French authorities during an operation involving search helicopters.

The drowning, which is thought to be the first of the year, came amid a flurry of migrant boats setting off from French beaches. On Thursday, 271 illegal aliens were brought ashore in Dover by UK Border Force officials.

The flow of migrants continued on Friday, with an additional 118 illegals on four separate boats landings. French authorities claimed to have prevented another 97 migrants from making the treacherous journey.

The latest crossings take the total so far for January to at least 551, more than double the number seen during the entire first month of last year when 223 migrants crossed.