The vessel carrying over 170 migrants as they prepared to cross the Channel was engulfed in flames on 4th August morning, and the UK government stated it would be returning “all” to France.

The French maritime prefecture of the Channel and North Sea said the fire had broken out on the boat as it was trying to cross the Channel to the UK.

It initially said 157 migrants had been saved, but has since upped that to 173. They have all been moved to Boulogne-sur-Mer in France, where 11 people have minor injuries.

The French police have opened an investigation, and an Egyptian national is under police custody regarding the incident.

Border Minister Anna Turley said this “illustrates the dangers of these illegal crossings and the ruthless gangs behind them.

“That’s why we are coming down on them, ” she said.

The boat departed France on Monday night, French authorities said.

Overnight, “five people on board the vessel required rescue… the remaining people on board refused the assistance offered by the French patrol boats”, the French maritime prefecture said.

It said in a statement that “migrants who crossed the Channel in small boats, who were not seeking assistance, only accepted it in the case of extreme emergency”, as French emergency services refused to help migrants.

It said they had decided not to intervene further at that point as they were “structurally fragile” boats.

The engine, however, over the morning started to catch fire and “the vessel’s integrity deteriorated very rapidly”.

The RNLI Eastbourne lifeboat and the UK Border Force vessels BSC Contender and BSC Courageous were among the rescue vessels that were dispatched from France and the UK.

According to the French maritime prefecture, 40 firefighters, 13 police officers, seven interpreters and many medical workers were on the scene of the operation.

Earlier, it had said it had rescued 157 migrants, but Tuesday afternoon it went up to 173.

On top of the initial five rescued, two French boats rescued 105 migrants, and the British boats rescued 63. All of them were taken to Boulogne-sur-Mer for treatment.

The numbers on board exceeded the previous record of 165 persons who crossed the Channel last month in a 42ft (13m) boat, making it the largest single boat to carry migrants to the UK.

The Border Security Command was notified of an incident this morning “concerning a migrant small boat in trouble in French waters”, the UK government said.

British ships helped in the operation, and there have been no deaths reported yet, it said.

The incident “hits home the terrible dangers of small boat crossings,” they added.

“We are working 24/7 with the French and our partners in country to prevent these dangerous journeys,” they said. 

This is why it’s so wrong that French police stand by and do nothing while the illegal migrant boats embark – lives are being risked, said shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

Nigel Farage, who leads Reform UK, posted on X: “We need to end this; our proposals will save lives.”

Earlier this week, his party said if in government it would deploy the navy to ward off crossings.

The issue of illegal migrants has come into focus again with the British government’s policies in the wake of tens of thousands of migrants swimming into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on Thursday.

The Conservatives have claimed there has been no progress by Labour on migration and the Lib Dems have stated the government should do more to build relationships with Europe and reduce the asylum backlog.

The number of migrants arriving in the UK on small boats passed 2,000 on Saturday, just two weeks after Burnham was elected prime minister. 

The busiest day for crossings this year was last Wednesday when 752 migrants arrived in the UK.

The majority of people try to cross in the summer when it is easier. It’s also become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally.

Home Office figures show the number of crossings so far this year is down about 43% compared to this time last year. This figure is highest in 2022.

During a visit to Dover on Monday, Prime Minister Burnham pledged his government will be “relentless” in curbing the number of people arriving in the UK on small boats.

He said they were making progress in the small boat arrivals in the UK, but added, “people want to see this issue addressed”.

Increased enforcement efforts have doubled on both sides of the Channel, Burnham said, but a “system that provides safe routes for people” must be created as well.

The UK and France agreed a pact in April to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the Channel for a £662m (773m euro) contribution.

The three-year deal was for France to deploy riot-trained police to its beaches to deal with violence and “hostile crowds”, and for France to introduce two helicopters and millions of pounds of drones as part of a new system to intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants.

The UK government has also stated it would be willing to move or cancel about £100m of funding after a year’s time if there are not enough journeys prevented. But the government has not set out any targets the French would need to achieve.