Three people missing after trying to cross Channel to UK in kayaks

Three people risking their lives to cross the Channel in kayaks have been reported missing by the French coastguard.

Police found two kayaks floating adrift close to the coastline early on Thursday morning and rescued two survivors, who were returned to Calais. The pair said a further three people were missing, prompting a search operation in air and on sea that lasted until late on Thursday evening.

The Calais coastguard said it would not resume efforts to find the kayakers on Friday.

On the same day, about 1,000 people reached the UK after risking their lives in small boats in the Channel – a record for the current series of arrivals.

A girl wrapped in a red jacket was carried ashore in Dover on Thursday, one of hundreds of people brought into the Kent port after being picked up at sea.

Lifeboat crews and Border Force boats were busy well into the evening after spending hours intercepting boats in the Dover Strait throughout the day.

Thursday’s total will surpass the previous single-day record of 853 set earlier this month when figures are finalised.

It comes despite two people losing their lives attempting the crossing and more feared missing at sea in recent weeks.

Further along the coast, more people were reportedly seen arriving on Hastings beach after being picked up by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

In 2019, the home secretary, Priti Patel, promised to make migrant crossings an “infrequent phenomenon” by spring 2020 and then pledged in August 2020 to “make this route unviable”.

During this time, the UK government has agreed to pay France millions of pounds to increase security on its northern coast.

Despite the increasing numbers of small boat arrivals, the UK has far fewer boat arrivals and asylum claims than many of its European counterparts.

At least 100,907 people have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean by land and sea so far this year, according to data from the UN high commissioner for refugees. At least 1,313 people are estimated to be dead or missing, according to the same data.