• 2024 was the deadliest year on record for Channel crossings, with at least 69 deaths reported.
• UK Government enforcement efforts have increased the dangers of crossings, with more people crammed into less seaworthy boats.
• There is no official government data published on the number of deaths or the profiles of those who died.
• Evidence from the United States shows that safe and legal routes, alongside enforcement, can reduce irregular migration and save lives.

A new report from the Refugee Council examines deaths in the English Channel in 2024, a year that saw the highest number of recorded deaths during Channel crossings. At least 69 men, women and children lost their lives attempting to reach the UK over the course of the year – more than the total between 2019 and 2023. Despite this alarming figure, the Refugee Council highlights that there is no official data tracking these fatalities, leaving a critical gap in evidence that is needed to inform policy. Where data is available, a third of deaths were of children, including a four-month-old baby from Iraq who died on 17 October 2024.

The report, Deaths in the Channel: What Needs to Change, finds that enforcement measures, including increased efforts to disrupt smuggling gangs, have made Channel crossings even more dangerous. Increasingly overcrowded and unseaworthy boats have heightened the risks for those making the journey. While the Government has acknowledged these dangers, it has not announced any plans to take action to mitigate the impact, such as improving search and rescue efforts.

The Refugee Council’s report sets out key recommendations for the Government:

• Publish quarterly data on Channel deaths jointly with the French Government, including age, sex, and nationality where known.
• Improve search and rescue operations along the French coast, including by increasing funding focused on saving lives.
• Expand safe and legal routes to the UK. This includes: increasing resettlement to pre-COVID levels; expanding eligibility for family reunion to allow child refugees in the UK to bring close family members; and piloting a refugee visa for 10,000 people from high grant countries.

The report calls for the UK Government to adopt a mixed approach that combines enforcement with the introduction of safe and legal routes. Drawing on the example of the United States, where the Biden administration introduced a sponsorship process alongside border controls, leading to reduced irregular arrivals, it outlines how safe and legal routes can undermine the smuggling gangs’ business model and reduce dangerous crossings.

Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said:

“The record number of deaths in the Channel this year should serve as a stark reminder that the current approach is not working. Smuggling gangs are profiting from men, women and children forced into life-threatening conditions, and enforcement measures alone are not enough to address this.

“More safe and legal routes are needed to provide a lifeline for those fleeing war and persecution. The success of the Ukraine schemes shows that when safe alternatives exist, refugees use them and don’t resort to incredibly dangerous journeys across the Channel.

“The Government also has a responsibility to invest in better search and rescue operations, in partnership with France, to prevent yet more deaths. Every person who lost their life in the Channel this year was someone with a story and loved ones – like 7-year-old Sara, who died boarding an overcrowded boat with her family. These deaths are not inevitable. The Government needs to take a different approach if it is to ensure everything possible is done so that 2025 does not see a repeat of last year’s devastating loss.”

The Refugee Council calls on the Government to take action on these recommendations as part of a broader approach to offer protection to refugees and reduce irregular crossings.

The full report is available here: Deaths in the Channel: What Needs to Change