More than 360 migrants were rescued Sunday while attempting the perilous crossing between the north coast of France and the south coast of England, in small boats, French officials said.

Regional maritime boats and a French Navy patrol ship made multiple trips to rescue groups of people in difficulty in the Channel, the French coastal authority Premar said.

In all, they rescued 367 people, taking them to the French ports of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk.

Increasing numbers of migrants seeking to reach England are trying to cross the Channel in makeshift boats now that officials have increased security at Calais and the cross-Channel tunnel.

The waterway is one of the busiest sea routes in the world, with more than 400 vessels crossing it every day and the weather conditions are often difficult.

Since the beginning of the year, a record 33,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats.

According to figures from Britain's interior ministry, 94% of the migrants who reached the U.K. in the past four years went on to apply for asylum. Of those who had received a response, most had been successful.

As the law currently stands, a migrant must be physically in the U.K. to start the asylum process. (AFP via VOA)

•PHOTO:Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa sit in a makeshift boat that was being used to clandestinely make its way towards the Italian coast, as they are found by Tunisian authorities about 50 nautical miles in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia's cen