Record 230 migrants cross English Channel in single small boat, French officials say

A record 230 migrants in one small boat crossed the English Channel to Britain, France's lifeboat service and UK media said on Monday, in the latest example of larger numbers of people packing into a single vessel.

The 230, including more than 20 children, were counted aboard the rubber dinghy as it departed the northeastern French coast amid chaotic scenes late Sunday, the SNSM lifeboat service said in a statement posted online.

The number breaks the previous record for a single boat, set last month when 165 people successfully crossed the busy shipping waterway.

The SNSM said on Monday it was "a new and sad record for the number of people crammed onto these flimsy boats."

A UK-bound dinghy carrying more than 150 people capsized in the Channel last week after its engine caught fire, prompting a major search-and-rescue operation.

In the latest record-breaking journey, French lifeboats escorted the dinghy up to British waters, before being relieved by the British, Jean-Marc Lamblin, the SNSM's local branch director, told the AFP news agency.