Overview

• A single inflatable carried 125 people across the Channel over the weekend, the highest number recorded in one boat.
• Roughly 100 people then crossed in another large dinghy the next day, underscoring the shift to higher-capacity vessels.
• Rescue accounts report multiple recent deaths from overcrowding on these boats, including two women crushed on a craft carrying about 70 people.
• The inflatables are described as Chinese-made and advertised online for about £1,000, with one supplier, Weihai Yamar Outdoors, sanctioned by the UK in July.
• The National Crime Agency says it is in talks with China to curb outboard engine supplies, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says the first removals under the France deal have begun.