An RNLI Dover lifeboat was launched this morning, just after 5.30am, at the request of the UK Coastguard following reports of a grey dinghy in distress which was carrying around 23 people.
The rescue centre received numerous 999 calls, requesting assistance to respond to reports that a man onboard the dinghy required medical attention.
The 6-foot grey rib was caught in rough waters in the Channel, with the lifeboat crew reporting 23 people onboard.
A helicopter was spotted airlifting a person to hospital after a rescue and recovery operation was launched.
A spokesman for the Coastgaurd told The Mail Online: "HM Coastguard has been coordinating a search and rescue response to an incident off Kent, working with Border Force and other partners. We sent the coastguard helicopter from Lydd and Dover RNLI lifeboat."
It is believed that around 1,000 migrants made the Channel crossing however official figures are yet to be released. This figure could rival the record total of 1,185 that was reached last Thursday.
A record 1,185 people reached the UK on Thursday after risking death on board small boats in the English Channel, a new record for a single day.
Lifeboat crews, Border Force and French authorities spent hours intercepting boats in the Dover Strait throughout the day.
However, despite their efforts, three people are feared lost at sea after two kayaks were found adrift off the coast of Calais.
Thursday’s total, confirmed by the Home Office on Friday, is the highest for daily arrivals during the current crisis, surpassing the previous record of 853 set earlier this month.
More than 23,500 people have now reached the UK after crossing the English Channel on board small boats this year, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.
In the last seven days, more than 2,400 people have crossed to Britain – the most in any such period during the current crisis and more than the entirety of 2019.
The Channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world and has claimed lives in the past, including two people in recent weeks.
Boris Johnson called on the French to “police the beaches”, telling reporters: “We have a problem which is that they are coming from France and in the end, if the French authorities will not or cannot control those departures it is very difficult for us to turn them back at sea.
