Total number of Channel crossings in 2023 has reached 20,973 LONDON: The number of migrants arriving in the UK in small boats hit a record for a single day on Saturday, the Independent reported. According to the most recent government data, around 872 people crossed the English Channel on 15 small vessels, an average of around 58 people per boat. The total number of Channel crossings in 2023 has reached 20,973. It is still lower than it was at this time last year, when around 25,000 people had already made the dangerous journey. The highest daily total since current records began in 2018 is 1,295 on Aug. 22, 2022. Meanwhile, the average number of migrants crossing the Channel per boat reached a new monthly record in August, when 5,369 people made the journey in 102 boats, averaging roughly 53 migrants each vessel. As one of his five key priorities while in power, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is committed to cracking down on migrants crossing the channel illegally in small boats.