A knife-wielding migrant boarded a boat bound for Britain after threatening a man with the weapon and telling him, 'I will kill you'.
Footage shows dozens of migrants climbing into a dinghy in Hardelot-Plage, northern France, with an argument breaking out between a man already on board and another trying to get on.
The confrontation escalates when the migrant in the water gets out a knife and lunges towards the man on the boat in an attempt to threaten him.
'I will kill you,' he is heard saying as he waves the weapon in the air, while one onlooker attempts to fend him off.
A British man at the scene is heard alerting the coastguard that the man is armed.
Before the knifeman can reach his target, he appears to drop the weapon into the water.
Just moments later, the armed man appears to board the boat but it is unclear whether he reached Britain.
A migrant attempting to cross the Channel appeared to threaten a man with a knife
He is heard in footage saying 'I'm going to kill you'
The migrant then drops the knife into the water before boarding the vessel
The recent incident follows a series of violent incidents involving migrants attempting to cross the Channel.
In July, French police launched an investigation after the body of a migrant was found on a beach in Calais.
Investigators believe those responsible may have fled to Britain on a small boat.
And in August, an Afghan national was found dead on a dinghy in the Channel.
It emerged yesterday that migrants were headed to Britain on a 'custom-made' small boat in the colours of the Kurdish flag, in an apparent reference to the gangs who dominate Channel trafficking.
More than 20 men were filmed on the dinghy off a Belgian beach early on Thursday, watched by police.
Rather than the usual black PVC plastic, the boat was made in distinctive colours matching the red, white and green 'fesses', or horizontal stripes, and yellow sunburst emblem of the Kurdish flag, adopted in 1946.
The departure took place at 3am local time from a beach near the border with France.
One witness said: 'This boat is just floating about five metres off [the beach] and the Belgian police are doing nothing.
'How crazy is this?
'The police could come and slash this boat easily to stop it.'
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'Far from smashing the gangs as Labour promised, the Kurdish people smugglers are now openly laughing in the Government's faces with an illegal immigrant boat decked in their national colours.
'The coming days are calm sea for a fortnight or so, and hundreds of illegal immigrants are set to flock across the Channel.
'The Government's returns deal with France has collapsed and the authorities the other side of the Channel are standing by as illegal immigrants and people smugglers run amok and launch ever larger boats.
It is unclear whether the migrant reached Britain
'Shabana Mahmood has failed.'
He added: 'The only solution is the Conservative borders plan - leave the European Convention on Human Rights so we can deport all illegal immigrants upon arrival. Then the crossings will stop.'
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage tweeted: 'The Belgian authorities, like the French, are just standing and watching.
'This boat is even custom-made to match the Kurdish flag.
'The gangs are laughing at us.'
It is not yet known whether the dinghy successfully crossed the Channel on Thursday.
But a Border Force vessel, BSC Courageous, was operating in the strait east of Calais.
Since Labour came to power 85,649 small boat migrants have reached the UK, including 8,466 since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in July.