FORTY-FIVE people were rescued from the English Channel after their boat got into difficulty, the French coastguard has said.
A search-and-rescue operation was launched off the coast of Pas-de-Calais on Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement by French authorities.
The people on board were taken to Calais where they were met by emergency services and police, it said.
The crossing is thought to be the second to have taken place this month following a two-week pause in small boat crossings amid bad weather conditions.
The first recorded by the Ministry of Defence took place on January 2 when 44 people made the journey by boat.
It comes just over a month after four people drowned in the Channel on December 14 when their boat capsized while crossing from France to Britain.
The deaths sparked renewed calls from campaigners and MPs for the government to open safe routes for asylum-seekers rather than cracking down further on crossings.