MIGRANTS continued to take the dangerous journey across the English Channel today a day after 12 people died attempting to make the trip.

Authorities confirmed that a pregnant woman and six children were among those who died on Tuesday in the deadliest Channel crossing of the year after their boat was ripped apart and sank off the French coast.

Others continued to make the perilous journey just hours later, with photos showing dozens, including children, being brought ashore in Dover Kent by lifeboats and Border Force today and Tuesday.

The Home Office said that 317 migrants arrived in five boats on Tuesday, taking the number of people who arrived in Britain so far this year through the route to 21, 720 — up 3 per cent from this time last year.

More than 30 people have died this year, compared with 12 who are thought to have died or were recorded as missing in 2023.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) UK said that it was “deeply saddened” by Tuesday’s deaths.

It said in a statement: “The lack of safe routes to the UK forces people to make dangerous journeys, which costs lives.

“The government needs to take immediate action and open pathways for people seeking sanctuary.”

Calais Food Collective hit out at the Labour government’s response on migration, saying in a statement: “We are dismayed to see that the previous government’s pledge to ‘stopping the boats’ has endured in principle, albeit with different branding.

“Prime Minister Sir] Keir Starmer’s Border Security Command and pledge to increase policing to crack down on ‘criminal gangs’ will impact those seeking safety the most and will continue to lead to more needless deaths.”

It condemned the “violent and deadly border regime” created by France and Britain.