38 people have been rescued from the Channel after a small migrant boat rapidly deflated off the coast of Kent, according to Associated Newspapers Limited.
The Coastguard led the search-and-rescue mission, working alongside the Royal Navy, Border Force, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and local police.
The group were safely brought to Dover by boat after ending up in the water at 6.17am this morning when their small boat deflated.
All 38 migrants were rescued from the water by 7.07am, with no fatalities reported, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
They were all assessed as being in a safe and stable condition and have now been entered into the immigration system.
The operation involved a helicopter, a fixed-wing aircraft, a RNLI Dover lifeboat and Border Force vessel HMS Ranger, said the Coastguard.
The number of people crossing the Channel in small boats this year is nearing 30,000, having already passed the total for 2021.
In November last year, 27 people drowned after a dinghy heading for the UK sank in the English Channel. It was the biggest loss of life recorded in the Channel.
On Tuesday, 538 people made the journey in 11 boats, while no crossings were recorded on Wednesday, according to MoD figures.
The provisional number of Channel crossings so far in 2022 is 29,099. Last year saw 28,526 crossings.
In August, a new daily record was set when 1,295 migrants attempted to cross in a single day. The hot weather over summer saw a spike in the number of people embarking on the dangerous journey across the 21-mile Dover Strait.
The number of crossings has soared despite the Government’s claims that its Rwanda immigration plan would help deter illegal migrants.