157 illegal migrants rescued after vessel catches fire off France

Tuesday's rescue highlights the growing dangers of channel crossings as human traffickers cram ever larger numbers of illegal migrants onto flimsy boats. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged on Sunday to be "relentless" in curbing small-boat arrivals.

The channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, and its strong currents have resulted in the deaths of many illegal migrants trying to cross over from France to Britain. Human traffickers typically overload their dinghies, leaving them barely afloat.

"This incident underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings. We continue to work relentlessly with the French and our partners overseas to prevent these perilous journeys," a British government spokesperson said.

On Monday, Britain's Reform UK party said that if elected, it would stop "asylum seekers" with what it said would be the largest military operation in the channel since World War Two.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Inti Landauro and Muvija M; Editing by Hugh Lawson)