A vessel carrying more than 100 migrants has helped bring the number of small boat arrivals to 27,799 this year.
Authorities intercepted a 10 metre-long craft with 106 people on board, trying to cross the English Channel.
A Government spokesperson said it was “pure chance” that the “grossly overcrowded” soft-bottomed taxi boat survived for more than 15 hours at sea.
Home Office figures show 325 migrants crossed between mainland Europe and Britain by small boat on Wednesday, in the same week that the number of arrivals since Labour won the election hit 50,000.
“We intercepted a 10m soft-bottomed vessel transporting 106 people across the Channel illegally,” the spokesperson said.
“It is a matter of pure chance that this grossly overcrowded taxi boat survived more than 15 hours at sea, and it again shows the complete disregard people smugglers have for whether people live or die.
“We will stop at nothing to dismantle the business models of those smuggling gangs and bring them to justice.”
According to the Government, migrants have attempted the journey on similar sized vessels, including during three crossings since last October where between 96 and 98 people were detected on board.
But a small boat carrying 112 migrants capsized in the sea in April 2024, resulting in the deaths of five people, including a seven-year-old girl.
“This latest incident also shows the importance of the agreement we have reached with the French authorities to review their maritime enforcement tactics, so that they are able for the first time to intercept boats in shallow waters and prevent taxi boats from parking offshore to collect large numbers of migrants unhindered,” the spokesperson added.
Authorities have begun detaining migrants under the UK’s “one in, one out” deal with France this month.
As part of the agreement, migrants who risk a small boat crossing face being taken to France, and the UK will take in an approved asylum seeker from the continent via a safe route.
The Home Office spokesperson said: “Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in northern France, and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening our ability to identify, disrupt and dismantle the gangs.”
A total of 51,041 migrants have been detected crossing the Channel since Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer entered No 10 on July 5 last year.
