French authorities said they rescued 107 migrants who were trying to cross the English Channel from France to England on Wednesday.

Over Christmas, 12 rescue operations were carried out along the coast of northern France, including a boat that had engine problems, according to a statement from France’s maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea.

In the morning, 30 passengers were rescued from the ship near Dunkirk, while others on board wanted to continue and were taken into British custody after reaching British waters, maritime authorities said.

Another ship with engine damage was spotted later in the day, also near Dunkirk, and all 51 passengers were rescued.

Later, 26 people were taken off the ship, which was in difficulty near Calais.

The channel is “a particularly dangerous area, especially in the height of winter for unsafe and overloaded ships,” the statement said.

At least 73 migrants died trying to cross Channel to Britain this year, according to Pas-de-Calais authorities, making 2024 the deadliest year on record for crossings.

Tens of thousands more have reached Britain, where the government has vowed to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.

In November, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for greater international cooperation against the gangs, which he described as “a global security threat akin to terrorism”.