More than 50 migrants were rescued in the English Channel, while bodies were found floating at sea.

The French coast guard said 51 people had been rescued after a boat ran into difficulty when its engine broke off the coast of Audresselles in northern France overnight from Monday to Tuesday.

The group was met by emergency services on the Boulogne-sur-Mer quay and taken to safety.

Meanwhile, a ferryman reported seeing a body adrift off the coast of Calais on Tuesday, prompting a search by a French patrol boat that led to the discovery of two bodies.

The bodies were brought ashore and the Boulogne-sur-Mer Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation.

French authorities have not yet confirmed whether the people who died were migrants.

Kent Police said another body was pulled from the Channel as officers were called to Dover lifeboat station on Tuesday.

It is not yet known if the man was a migrant, but an investigation is trying to establish the circumstances.

It comes as newly appointed shadow home secretary Chris Philp has criticized the Government’s efforts to tackle Channel crossings since Labor came to power, as figures show more than 31,000 migrants have arrived in Britain so far this year. year.

According to the Home Office, 263 people made the journey on four boats on Wednesday, bringing the provisional total for 2024 to date to 31,535.

This is up 18% from this time last year (26,699), but down 21% from 2022 (39,929), a record year for crossings.

About 50 people have died while trying to cross the Channel this year, according to incidents recorded by the French coast guard.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also reported 11 more migrant deaths believed to be linked to attempted crossings so far in 2024.

That figure does not include Tuesday’s incident.

Refugee charities have warned that deaths in the Channel have become “appallingly regular” and have repeatedly called for safe alternative crossing routes to stop more deaths during the perilous crossing.

In the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Philp criticized ministers for abandoning the previous government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda “before it had even started”.

“The first flight was supposed to take off, I think from memory, on July 24, but they canceled it.

“Now if the flight had been allowed to go ahead, if the scheme had been allowed to go ahead, the deterrent effect would have started,” he told MPs.

Citing comments made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he also urged the government to “urgently involve offshore processing”, adding: “Because of their failures, Labor is breaking its manifest commitment to end the use of hotels.” while asking for a commitment. to stop opening hotels to accommodate asylum seekers.

Border Security and Asylum Minister Dame Angela Eagle responded: “Rwanda, from the time it started until we scrapped it, in that time, 83,500 people crossed in small boats.

“If that’s a deterrent, then I think (Chris Philp) has a unique view of what deterrent means in the English language.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has not yet committed to a target or timeframe for limiting Channel crossings, but promised the government would “try to make progress as quickly as possible”.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed the government would “treat people smugglers like terrorists” as he announced an extra £75m for his border security command during a speech delivered at Interpol’s general meeting in Glasgow on Monday.

The next day, the leader of a “prolific” smuggling gang believed to be behind 10,000 Channel crossings was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a French court, with 17 other members of the network also condemned.

The group was prosecuted following a 2022 police operation across Europe that led to dozens of arrests in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, more than 100 boats, 1,000 life jackets, engines and cash being confiscated.