The multi-agency English Channel operation saw cooperation between French officials, British Border Security Command boats and an RNLI lifeboat off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer15:31, 04 Aug 2026Updated 15:37, 04 Aug 2026A major multi-agency English Channel rescue operation was launched today to save 157 migrants whose dinghy capsized in the waterway after its engine caught fire.‌A combination of French vessels, British Border Security Command boats and an RNLI lifeboat were deployed to the Channel in the early hours this morning after the boat got into trouble at around 6am. They were retrieved by the coalition of rescuers and taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer, which is just down the coast from Calais, with British vessels responsible for taking 54 migrants to safety.‌The dinghy caught fire while travelling through a French search and rescue region, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said, in what is understood to be one of the biggest ever attempts to cross the Channel.‌France's Maritime Prefecture said authorities first became aware of the crowded vessel setting sale from the Veules-les-Roses area early in the morning, and dispatched the French Sea Rescue Society (SNSM) from Dieppe, along with two vessels, the Argonaute and the Minck, which monitored the boat's crossing.Early on, while they were tracking the boat through French territory, the service said five people aboard were rescued and taken in by authorities, before being brought back to the quay in Boulogne.‌The rest of the group ploughed forwards on their boat, until its engine caught fire and they were forced to intervene out of urgency as the boat rapidly deteriorated. The prefecture said: "Determined to reach the United Kingdom, the migrants making the crossing in precarious boats refused assistance offered by French resources and only accepted it in situations of extreme urgency.""Given the structural fragility of the systematically overcrowded boats, the decision was made not to force the migrants to board state rescue vessels, to avoid endangering their lives in the event of a shipwreck.‌"This same boat continued its crossing attempt. On the morning of Tuesday, August 4, while still in a French SRR (Safety Reference Area), near the British SRR, its engine caught fire and the vessel's integrity deteriorated very rapidly. The CROSS (Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Centre) immediately broadcast a mayday relay message and deployed available resources to the area to rescue the shipwrecked migrants."Among those responding to the incident was the Border Security Command ship the BSC Contender, which a Government spokesperson said helped support the French operation.‌A UK Government spokesperson said: “This morning, the Border Security Command was alerted to an incident in the Channel concerning a migrant small boat in distress in French waters. British vessels supported a French search and rescue operation. This is a live rescue operation but at this stage there have been no fatalities reported. Those on board will be safely returned to France.“This incident underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings. We continue to work relentlessly with the French and our partners overseas to prevent these perilous journeys.”The Justice Secretary said the fire on a dinghy carrying migrants across the Channel showed "the dangerous nature of those crossings" and "the blind indifference that human traffickers have for life on those boats."‌Speaking to reporters, Alex Norris said: "It's a very visible reminder, both of the dangerous nature of those crossings, also of the blind indifference that human traffickers have for life on those boats... I'm pleased with the work that we're doing with France. That's reduced 46,000 preventions already this year. We are seeing some positive steps forward... but we've got to keep doing that work to dissuade people from making those dangerous crossings, and that's what we're doing."Pictures taken on the French side of the Channel showed migrants clad in red MediFleece's disembarking from the Argonaute, bleary-eyed and barefoot as they stepped onto the coast. They were seen standing at the Port de Commerce in Boulogne-sur-Mer, and being led off to a bus.‌The number of people on the boat, which left the beach at Veules-les-Roses, near Dieppe, on Monday night, makes it one of the biggest ever to attempt to cross the Channel. A record 165 migrants crossed in a single vessel last month in a 13 metre (42ft) boat dubbed a “mega dinghy” by the media.A coastguard spokesperson said: “A vessel caught fire earlier this morning whilst in the French search and rescue region. UK vessels and a lifeboat are assisting.” An RNLI spokesperson said Eastbourne’s all-weather lifeboat launched at 6am on Tuesday.The joint operation follows increased cooperation between the UK and France when responding to attempted Channel crossings by migrants, with Keir Starmer's Government having hammered out a £662million (€773m) deal aimed at preventing crossings into the UK.‌As part of the three-year agreement, there are plans to send riot-trained police to French beaches to tackle violence and "hostile crowds". For its own part, France will deploy millions of pounds of drones and two helicopters as part of a systen to intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants. Around £100m of that funding is conditional, and could be redirected or withdrawn altogether if bit enough journeys are stopped - although the Government has not revealed what targets it has given to its French counterparts.Home Office figures show that the number of crossings in 2026 is down around 43 percent compared to this time in 2025, progress hailed by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.Article continues belowHe said people "want to see this issue addressed", adding that enforcement officers are busy tackling people-smuggling gangs on either side of the Channel. He said it was important that a "system that offers safe routes for people" should complement the crackdown.