London, 19 Jul (ONA) —- As many as 15,000 migrants have arrived in Britain so far this year after crossing the English Channel, figures show.

Since the beginning of 2022, 15,107 people have reached Britain’s shores after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats, according to provisional government data.

Crossings continued on Monday for the 11th day in a row, with 330 people arriving in seven boats, Ministry of Defence figures show.

The highest daily total for 2022 to date was recorded on 13 April when 651 people made the crossing in 18 boats.

A record 1,185 people made the crossing to Britain on 11 November 2021 – the highest figure recorded since the start of 2020.

A total of 28,526 people made the crossing in 2021, compared with 8,466 in 2020, 1,843 in 2019 and 299 in 2018, official Home Office figures show.

Despite the increasing numbers, Britain’s small boat arrivals are a fraction of the number of people going to Europe.

Data from the UN’s refugee agency shows at least 120,441 people arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean by land and sea in 2021.

Source: Oman News Agency