A female migrant has died while trying to cross the England Channel in a small boat on Saturday.
The woman was found unresponsive after Border Force officers intercepted the dinghy entering UK waters, the Home Office said.
It comes after hundreds of migrants arrived in Dover this week, with some 710 people arriving on 11 boats on Monday – averaging 65 people per dinghy. On Thursday, 392 people arrived on six boats.
Kent police officers were called to Western Docks, Dover at 3:11pm on Saturday afternoon, along with other emergency services, and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers are conducting initial enquiries following her death, the police said.
A UK government spokesperson said: “This afternoon, Border Security Command Maritime responded to a small boat that entered UK waters. On intercepting this boat, a migrant was found to be unresponsive.
“Despite medical assistance, we are deeply saddened to confirm that they have since died. Our thoughts are will all those affected.
“This latest tragedy underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings. We continue to work relentlessly with the French and our partners to prevent these perilous journeys.”
Two women, aged about 20 and believed to be from Sudan, died while attempting to cross the Channel from France in May.
French officials said that the boat, which was carrying 82 people, ran aground on a beach in northern France. Christophe Marx, secretary-general of the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, said at the time that the women had been found dead inside the boat.
Two others also died in April along the northern French coast after a dinghy got into difficulty. Last year at least 29 people died or went missing trying to make the perilous journey, down from 83 in 2024.
Under the terms of a new deal between the UK and France, riot-trained police will be sent to French beaches to stop migrants from making the journey.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood signed the £662m three-year agreement in April, with the deal funding millions of pounds worth of drones, two helicopters and a camera system to intercept people smugglers and migrants.
Just over 10,000 people have made the journey across the Channel on a small boat this year, down on the same period last year.
According to a tally from the International Organisation for Migration, 10 migrants have gone missing on a journey from mainland Europe to the UK so far in 2026.
