One migrant died in the Channel, and another is missing presumed drowned as he attempted to cross the Channel by boat from France to Britain.
The body of the man, who has not been identified, was recovered off Dunkirk but he was declared dead by the French authorities. It is believed that he drowned when his boat capsized. The second migrant is believed to have drowned after his boat capsized.
The Isle of Inishmore, a cross-Channel Irish ferry was forced to stop, rescue 13 migrants in a sinking boat, and return them to Calais. Crew threw them a rope to pull their craft to the side of the ship, before rescuing them and returning them to France.
The ferry captain then spoke to the passengers, saying: “Apologies, we had to stop to rescue 13 migrants in need, whose boat ran out of fuel, and was sinking.”
The current surge in migrant crossings is believed to be due to the good weather along the coasts of southern England since Monday, despite the sudden drop-off in temperatures. This has been despite calm Channel waters. In July and September, more than 6,000 migrants took advantage of calm seas and clear skies to make the journey across the Dover Strait.
Sebastien Pive (Dunkirk’s public procuror) announced a manslaughter investigation, stating that the boat was so loaded it broke down and sank. He also told AFP This week’s increase of attempted crossings was likely due to favorable weather conditions.
Natalie Elphicke, Conservative Dover MP, called for controversial ‘pushback” tactics to immediately combat migrant dinghies. She stated that the French had ‘entirely lost their border control’ and added: “It’s a shame.” Time to take additional steps, including turning boats around quickly and returning illegal immigrants.
Yesterday’s drowning was second in the past ten day after at least one migrant went overboard by rescuers from a small boat off Harwich (Essex) last Tuesday. It is believed to have been the worst tragedy in Channel, an international shipping channel. The Channel was closed last Tuesday after five members of a Kurdish-Iranian families lost their lives.
The latest migrants to be killed on this perilous journey were among the more than 400 people who were rescued by French authorities from Tuesday night into Wednesday night.
The Isle of Inishmore was forced to stop a cross-Channel Irish ferry and rescue 13 migrants in a sinking craft and return them back to Calais.
After crossing the Channel, migrants arrive at Dungeness, Kent, escorted to shore by border officials and RNLI.
After crossing the Channel, migrants arrive at Dungeness, Kent, escorted to shore by border officials and RNLI.
After a small boat incident on Channel 2, a group of migrants are brought aboard the Dungeness Lifeboat to Dover, Kent.
After a small boat incident in Channel 4, Border Force officers brought a group of people believed to be migrants to Dover (Kent).
The current surge in migrant crossings is believed to be due to good weather along the coasts of southern England since Monday, despite the sudden drop-off in temperatures. This has seen calm Channel waters.
Yesterday’s footage captured the moment a Channel ferry was forced stop to rescue migrants in a sinking craft. This happened as illegal crossings increased to 20,000 this year.
Five suspected asylum seekers were found in a refrigerated truck
The five individuals, who were believed to be suffering from hypothermia, were found at the rear of a 44-tonne refrigerated truck.
Five people believed by refugees were discovered in the backseat of a refrigerated vehicle.
On Tuesday evening, emergency services were called to the Poyle Interchange on M25 Northbound at 8.10pm.
The five men, believed to be hypothermic, were found in the back of a loaded 44-tonne refrigerated vehicle near Harmondsworth’s removal centre.
Thames Valley Police traffic officers were alerted and called firefighters to help with oxygen and thermal imaging.
A number of people were removed from behind the lorry and wrapped with silver space blankets. They were then taken to the hospital to be checked-up.
The UK border force has now handed over the individuals involved.
According to a London Fire Brigade spokesperson, one Heathrow crew arrived and used a thermal image camera to inspect the lorry for any additional stowaways.
Thames Valley Police spokesmen said that they were called by Surrey colleagues to investigate reports of five people trapped in a refrigerated truck on the M25.
“Officers from Surrey Police stopped a lorry and Thames Valley Police detained a 48-year old man on suspicion that he illegally assisted asylum seekers to enter Britain.
“He remains in police custody at the moment.
“In terms of an update regarding the five people in the lorry, Surrey Police is handling this.”
A group of migrants found themselves in difficulty while on the Channel. They told their rescuers that a person had fallen into Pas-de-Calais. With the help of firefighters and rescue personnel, the French Navy helicopter Dauphin conducted an extensive search. After no one was found, the search was stopped.
Another rescue operation saw a migrant who was unconscious, and was later declared dead at a French port.
A spokesman for the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel, the North Sea stated late Wednesday night that one person was missing and one was declared dead.
“Indeed, rescuers were informed by castaways that someone had fallen into the Pas-de-Calais sea. The CROSS then uses the Dauphin helicopter for dedicated research. Coordinated actions are also taken with the resources of the departmental fire- and rescue service (SDIS).
“At the end the morning, after futile searches and lack of information, the maritime prefect from the Channel and North Sea decided to suspend all searches at sea. During another rescue operation, a castaway also was found unconscious.
“Rescuers tried their best, but this individual was pronounced dead upon his return to the dock.”
French Navy helicopter Dauphin, and Belgian Army chopper Caiman, helped rescue tug Abeille Languedoc. They also rescued French Navy patrol vessel Cormorant, Customs Patroller Jacques Oudart Fourmentin and Maritime Gendarmerie surveillanceboat Scarpe.
Numerous lifeboat crews were also aided by local lighthouse beacons and joined the emergency response.
It’s just over a week ago that two Somalian migrants were rescued in an emergency 30 mts. off Harwich. A third man drowned after he went overboard.
It is the worst day of crossings in Channel history since Rasoul Iran-Nejad (35), Shiva Mohammad Panahi (35), and Artin (15 months) all died after the boat in which they were travelling sank in Oct last year.
The Home Office is yet not to confirm how many migrants arrived in the UK on Wednesday. MailOnline reached out to the department for comment.
Yesterday’s footage captured the moment that a Channel ferry was forced by the law to rescue migrants in a sinking vessel. This was the second year of illegal crossings.
Photos taken onboard the Isle of Ishinore show over a dozen migrants in a packed boat being propelled along the busiest shipping lane in the world by a single man using a weak paddle.
The ferry stopped midway through a crossing from Dover to Calais after the craft was spotted drifting 10.45am, with the captain telling passengers: ‘Apologies for the delay but we had to stop and rescue 13 migrants in distress who’s boat had run out of fuel and was sinking’.
A rescue craft was sent to the aid ship and threw ropes to the boat so it could be pulled along. The crew rescued all 13 migrants, and discovered that two of them didn’t have life jackets. They were all taken to Calais.
Another video shows migrants celebrating their arrival in Britain shouting “Yay, UK Is Good” as they are ferried to Dover on RNLI lifeboats.
The video was taken as 456 migrants arrived in France in 15 small boats, bringing the total number who have made the dangerous journey to this point to 20,198.
This is more than double the 8,410 who arrived in Britain last year, and the figure will soon increase after more migrants were seen arriving today.
Despite Priti Patel, Home Secretary, promising to make Channel crossings an “infrequent phenomenon” by spring 2020, the numbers have risen dramatically.
Facing increasing pressure to ‘get a grip’ on the crisis, she recently agreed to hand a further £54million to Emmanuel Macron’s administration in France to step up patrols on their coast. Miss Patel has also authorized pushback tactics, which are used to stop migrants from returning to France and divert them to France. These tactics have yet not been implemented.
These tactics are opposed to by the French who claim they are against maritime law.
Pictured: A group migrant is brought to shore by RNLI Dover Lifeboat/Hunter
Border Force: The number of migrants who have crossed the Channel has passed 20,000
Yesterday saw more migrants arrive onboard tThe Morrell, an RNLI Lifeboat based at Dungeness in Kent, brought the first group to Dover Marina just before 7am.
Two men wearing lifejackets were seen walking up the gangway of Immigration Enforcement to process their applications, while their small black dinghy was being towed into harbour.
Around 40 migrants were also seen crammed onto the Border Force cutter Hunter, before they disembarked around 8am. A little over 30 people were on board the Morrell when it returned to the harbour half an hour later. The largest catamaran Hurricane, owned by Border Force, was also bringing many migrants to shore.
It had to park in a double spot with a lifeboat, wait to disembark its rescued passengers, who were wrapped in red blankets for warmth at 10.30 am this morning.
Clear plastic bags were often carried by many of these men. The RNLI’s Dungeness vessel was also believed to be working throughout the night on search-and-rescue.
Observers watching activity off the Kent coast of the Channel predict that Monday could see a higher number of arrivals.
October saw 2,669 migrants cross the Channel in 92 boats.
Other than that, Escaut, a maritime gendarmerie coast surveillance boat, recovered 34 migrants, while Jacques Oudart Fourmentinis (Customs Coast Guard patroller) saved 49 people in just two operations.
This is six times greater than the 463 people who arrived in 33 vessels in the same month lastyear.
Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O’Mahoney said that these journeys are illegal and dangerous and unnecessary. He also stated that violent criminal gangs benefiting from misery.
“We are working together with the French to stop boats abandoning their beaches and crackdown against the criminals driving these crossings.
“People should apply for asylum in the first safe country that they reach.” The Government’s New Plan for Immigration will fix the system. It will be tough on those who abuse it and fair for those who are truly in need.
The men were brought in the hull and a tropical-themed boat with pictures of exotic parrots and colourful flowers to harbour.
Good visibility continued to allow more migrants to cross the Dover Strait, covering 21 miles. However, conditions at sea were still choppy.
They were among the first arrivals in a week since 145 arrived in five boats on October 26.
The Home Office confirmed the figures late Tuesday night.
It was also reported that 7 boats were intercepted by the French authorities, which prevented 343 additional migrants from reaching the UK.