A man has died trying to cross the English Channel, Kent Police says.

The RNLI said it had launched its all-weather lifeboat and a group of people were brought to Dover in a Border Force boat on Friday morning.

In a statement, the RNLI said: “Dover RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was tasked by HM Coastguard at 8.15 BST… to an incident in the Channel.”

Kent Police said they were called 10 minutes afterwards following a Border Force patrol responding to a medical emergency on a small boat in the English Channel. They confirmed a man had been pronounced dead.

A blue forensics tent has been set up outside the lifeboat station in Dover.

A police spokesperson said: “Officers have launched an investigation to establish the circumstances leading to the man’s death.

“The priority remains to establish the man’s identity in order to notify his family.

“Officers are currently at Dover Lifeboat Station while initial enquiries are under way.”

The government said investigations were ongoing so it would be inappropriate to comment further.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said it sent UK Border Force vessels, RNLI lifeboats and an HM Coastguard search-and-rescue helicopter “in response to small boats activity” reported in the Channel.

“People were recovered to the UK,” the spokesperson added.

More than 9,000 people have crossed the English Channel on small boats so far this year.

This is 42% higher than at the same point last year, when the total stood at 6,265, and 81% higher than at this stage in 2023, when the total was 4,899.

In the last week, 1,871 migrants crossed the channel on small boats, with more than 705 making the journey in 12 boats on Tuesday – the highest number of arrivals on a single day so far this year.

On Thursday, 211 people crossed the English Channel on three small boats.

Home Office figures show more people arrived in small boats between January and April 2025 than in the same four-month period in any year since data on Channel crossings began in 2018.

The figures come as the government has vowed to crack down on people-smuggling across the Channel.