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Pictures now show migrants on board a bus following their rescue from the English Channel.

A statement from the French Maritime Prefect stated that the people on the boat, which capsized this morning after catching fire, were "determined to reach the United Kingdom".

Five people needed to be rescued overnight and were brought back to shore, but the rest refused assistance from French authorities.

The French Maritime Prefect said: "Given the structural fragility of the systematically overcrowded boats, the decision was made not to force the migrants to board state rescue vessels, to avoid endangering their lives in the event of a shipwreck."

A total of 157 people were rescued, with no casualties identified.

Both the UK and France confirmed 157 migrants were rescued(Image: Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP via Getty Images)

Migrants wait after disembarking from a French rescue ship following their rescue at sea(Image: Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP via Getty Images)

Migrants sit in a bus after disembarking from a French rescue ship following their rescue from the English Channel(Image: Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP via Getty Images)

The British rescue ship BSC Contender has been pictured cruising away from France after the migrants involved in this morning's incident disembarked.

The vessel left from the Port de Commerce in Boulogne-sur-Mer in Nortern France.

A total of 54 people were rescued by British Border Force ships BSC Contender, pictured below, and BSC Courageous.

The British rescue ship BSC Contender cruises away after participating the Channel rescue operation this morning(Image: Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP via Getty Images)

British Border Force ships BSC Contender, pictured above, and BSC Courageous were both deployed

Below are more pictures of migrants disembarking in France after they were rescued from the English Channel this morning.

The operation took place as the small boat they were on to try to cross the Channel to the UK capsized after the vessel's engine caught fire.

French authorities said those rescued were scheduled to arrive back to France at 12.30pm local time (11.30am BST).

French police stand beside the gangway as migrants disembark from the French rescue ship Argonaute(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Migrants wait after disembarking from a French rescue ship following their rescue at sea(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Migrants board a bus after disembarking from a French rescue ship following their rescue at sea(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Migrants walk after disembarking from a French rescue ship following their rescue at sea(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Migrants involved in the small boat fire in the English Channel this morning have now been pictured disembarking the French rescue ship Argonaute in France.

The ship transported 30 of the 157 people who were rescued to Port de Commerce in Boulogne-sur-Mer, northern France.

Migrants disembark from the French rescue ship Argonaute following their rescue at sea(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

A total of 1,176 migrants entered the UK last week after crossing the English Channel in small boats, the latest data from the Home Office and Border Force Shows.

They were brought in using 15 boats, with Wednesday being the busiest day last week.

On that day, nine boats arrived, bringing in 752 people.

No boats arrived on Monday, Friday and Sunday last week.

The number of people on the boat, which left the beach at Veules-les-Roses, near Dieppe, on Monday night, makes it one of the biggest ever to attempt to cross the Channel.

A record 165 migrants crossed in a single vessel last month in a 13m (42ft) boat.

A total of 157 people were rescued following this morning's boat fire in the English Channel.

The French Maritime Prefect stated that 30 of those were boarded on the BSAA Argonaute, 73 on the Minck vessel and 54 on British vessels.

The 54 who boarded British vessels were later transferred to the BF Contender.

All people rescued were taken back to France and were expected to disembark at Boulogne-sur-Mer at 12.30pm local time [11.30am BST] and met by rescue services.

Below is a breakdown of all the recources deployed to the English Channel this morning to rescue nearly 160 people following a small boat fire.

The list, provided by the French Maritime Prefect is as follows:

• the state-chartered rescue ship Minck and its semi-rigid intervention boat (SRI);
• the chartered support and assistance vessel Argonaute
• the Dauphin helicopter of the detachment of flotilla 35F based in Le Touquet;
• the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) vessel RNLI 14 02 - Eastbourne;
• British Border Force ships: BSC Contender and BSC Courageous;
• a team of two nurses from SAMU 62 in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The vessel from the Calais maritime and port security platoon was also deployed to ensure the safety of shipwrecked people and crews in the area.

The French Maritime Prefect added that, after five of the people on board were rescued, the boat continued its crossing attempt over the Channel.

This morning, however, while still in the French safety reference area but close to the British one, the boat's engine caught fire and "the vessel's integrity deteriorated very rapidly".

A Mayday Relay message was sent out by the Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Centre "immediately" and available resources were sent "to rescue the shipwrecked migrants", the prefect said.

A statement from the French Maritime Prefect stated that the people on the boat were "determined to reach the United Kingdom".

The authority said the migrant boat departed yesterday from the Veules-les-Roses area in Normandy, with the French Sea Rescue Society deployed from Dieppe.

The Argonaute and the Minck ships were also sent to monitor the boat's crossing during the day and night yesterday and today.

Five people needed to be rescued on board the vessel overnight, the prefect stated, and were brought back to the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The prefect statement reads: "The remaining people on board refused the assistance offered by French resources.

"Determined to reach the United Kingdom, the migrants making the crossing in precarious boats refused assistance offered by French resources and only accepted it in situations of extreme urgency.

"Given the structural fragility of the systematically overcrowded boats, the decision was made not to force the migrants to board state rescue vessels, to avoid endangering their lives in the event of a shipwreck."

According to the French maritime prefecture, 54 people were rescued by British ships.

Thirty were rescued by a French Navy ship, while another 73 by a separate French boat.

The UK Government has also confirmed no fatalities have been recorded at this stage.

A spokesperson said: "This morning, the Border Security Command was alerted to an incident in the Channel concerning a migrant small boat in distress in French waters.

"British vessels supported a French search and rescue operation.

"This is a live rescue operation but at this stage there have been no fatalities reported.

"Those on board will be safely returned to France.

"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."

Border Security Command Maritime and the RNLI supported the French Coastguard to conduct this morning's search and rescue operation.

Nearly 160 people were rescued (file photo)(Image: PA)

The boat reportedly left from Veules-les-Roses in Normandy yesterday.

French news outlet Le Monde reports that five passengers on board who were "in need of rescue" last night were disembarked in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The other people on the boat then "refused the assistance offered by French resources", according to the French maritime prefect.

As the vessel continued its journey towards the UK this morning, the engine is understood to have caught fire and "the integrity of the boat [deteriorated] very rapidly".

The people present on the small boat were forced to jump into the water when the vessel caught fire, French authorities have confirmed.

A spokesperson told the Mirror: "This morning, a small boat caught fire on the boundary between French and British waters, forcing its occupants to jump into the water.

"French and British rescue services responded quickly. A total of 157 people were rescued and are currently being brought ashore at Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they will be attended to by the fire and rescue service (SDIS) and state-commissioned organisations.

"At this stage, there are no reported casualties. The operation is still ongoing."

A total of 157 migrants have reportedly been rescued this morning as their boat caught fire while trying to cross the English Channel.

French authorities told AFP: "A small boat caught fire at the border of French and British waters, leading its occupants to jump into the water."

The statement added that no casualties have been reported "at this stage".

Good morning and thank you for joining our live coverage of this incident.

We have approached the Home Office, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for comment.

We will bring you their statements and more information as soon as we get them.