Four migrants have died and more than 40 were rescued this morning after a boat sank in the middle of the English Channel - sparking a desperate rescue mission.
Rescuers pulled people from the icy water this morning, including a number being airlifted after the boat sank five miles off the coast of Dungeness in Kent.
The boat, which was carrying up to 50 people, got into difficulty in icy waters during sub-zero temperatures in the early hours of this morning - with the coastguard and navy ships racing to the scene.
Temperatures last night were said to be -4C as rescue boats and ambulances were called at about 3am before launching crews off the coast.
Images from Dover today showed those who had been rescued, including small children.
Opening Prime Minister's Questions, Rishi Sunak expressed his “sorrow” at the “capsizing of a small boat” in the English Channel, telling MPs there had been a “tragic loss of human life”.
Sir Keir Starmer said it is “heartbreaking” that there have been more deaths in the Channel.
The Labour leader tweeted: “Heartbreaking that more lives have been lost in the Channel. Thanks to the emergency services for everything they do.”
A Government spokesperson said: “At 0305 today, authorities were alerted to an incident in the Channel concerning a migrant small boat in distress. After a co-ordinated search and rescue operation led by HM Coastguard, it is with regret that there have been four confirmed deaths as a result of this incident, investigations are ongoing and we will provide further information in due course.
“This is a truly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the friends and families of all those who have lost their lives today.”
A fishing crew that helped bring migrants onto their boat described the scene "like something out of a Second World War movie".
Raymond, the captain, said he was woken up by a crew member who said "there are migrants alongside the boat".
He told Sky News: "It was like something out of a Second World War movie, there were people in the water everywhere, screaming.
"The dinghy started to drift away, so I steamed towards the dinghy and we secured it with a rope to the side of the boat.
"We were trying to pull them off the dinghy."
He said they managed to drag 31 onto the boat and said they had come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Senegal and India.
Raymond also said they had apparently paid £5,000 to a smuggler in France for passage into the UK.
They counted 45 people trying to cling on to the side of the vessel.
Another Dover-based fisherman said that the temperature of the sea mid-Channel was just 9C.
The trawlerman who asked not to be named said: "If you went into the sea mid-channel without a dry suit or protective clothing in those temperatures you would have about five minutes before you began to struggle.
"You would start to get cramps in your limbs which would make things really difficult to try and stay afloat."
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said this morning that she was “very saddened to hear that lives are feared to have been lost following a small boat tragedy in the English Channel”.
The Channel water was said to be calm last night, which is when crossing attempts increase.
Two lifeboats have since arrived in Dover following a large search-and-rescue operation in the Channel.
The Ramsgate RNLI lifeboat, as well as a smaller RNLI rib, arrived at the Port of Dover at around 1.35pm.
It appeared the crews aboard both lifeboats are changing over but this has not been confirmed.
The Dover lifeboat, which came to shore at around 11.15am, brought a body to shore in a body bag.
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said HM Coastguard was working with the Navy, Border Force and Kent Police on a search and rescue involving a small boat.
The search is expected to take all day, but due to the freezing temperatures, it is unlikely there will be further rescues.
The unfolding emergency comes a day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a five-point plan to stop perilous crossings of the world's busiest shipping lane.
The proposals were branded "appalling and grotesque" by charities with the fact no safe routes to claim asylum were cited as the main reason for the continued crossings.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman claimed the four deaths justified her draconian crackdown on migrants.
She told MPs: “It is not cruel or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of the criminal gangs who trade in misery and exploit our system and our laws.”
Blaming the “evil organised criminals who treat human beings as cargo”, she said the deaths were the “most sobering reminder possible of why we have to end these crossings.”
Ms Braverman - who just weeks ago branded Channel migrants an “invasion” - told MPs: “These are the days that we dread. Crossing the channel in unseaworthy vessels is a lethally dangerous endeavour”.
Ms Braverman repeated Rishi Sunak’s pledge to have “an annual quota set by Parliament” of the number of people the UK offers safety - but said capacity is not “limitless”.
She added: “People do not need to seek asylum if they are already in a safe country.”
Ms Braverman said the “largest-ever small boats deal with France” would help to tackle future crossings.
She added: “It was evident that we had to go much further, which is why the Prime Minister announced a new package yesterday.
“It includes a new, permanent, unified small boats operational command, bringing together the military, civilian capabilities and the National Crime Agency.”
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper demanded answers over the government’s plans and also blasted people traffickers, saying: “They have profited as people have drowned”.
The French authorities confirmed that they were assisting with today's mission and that they had received "Mayday calls".
A Calais coastguard source said: "There are Navy helicopters involved, and any rescue craft available to assist this small boat containing UK-bound migrants."
The French government said they have sent a patrol vessel to help with the response to the English Channel incident.
The customs coastguard vessel Kermorvan has been made available, the French authorities said.
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats were launched from Dover, Dungeness, Hastings and Ramsgate alongside coastguard rescue teams from Deal, Dungeness and Folkestone.
Coastguard helicopters from Lydd and Lee on Solent and another from the French navy were also involved.
A fishing vessel in the area and an air ambulance also helped in the mission.
Flight radar showed helicopters circling one spot in the Channel near Lydd.
It is a little over a year since 32 people died when their boat sank in the Channel. Five women and a girl were among those killed in the tragedy, in what was last year described as the deadliest incident of its kind ever.
This year more than 44,000 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel, more than in any other on record.
A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesperson said this morning: "HM Coastguard is currently coordinating a search and rescue response to an incident involving a small boat off Kent, working with the Navy, Border Force, Kent Police and other partners.
"We have sent Dover, Dungeness, Hastings and Ramsgate RNLI lifeboats and Deal, Dungeness and Folkestone coastguard rescue teams, along with the coastguard area commander.
"HM Coastguard helicopters from Lydd and Lee on Solent and one from the French Navy are involved. A fishing vessel in the area is also assisting in the rescue. South East Coast Ambulance and Kent Police are working with us and an air ambulance has been sent.
"The incident is ongoing and we have no further information.
"HM Coastguard will continue to safeguard life around the seas and coastal areas of the UK, working with search and rescue resources in the area. If a vessel needs search and rescue assistance, HM Coastguard will continue to respond to all those in need."
A UK Government spokesperson told the Mirror: “We are aware of an incident in UK waters and all relevant agencies are supporting a coordinated response. Further details will be provided in due course.”
A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said: “South East Coast Ambulance Service was called by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency following reports of an incident in the channel at about 3.40am on Wednesday, 14 December.
“We have sent resources to Dover in support of the rescue efforts being undertaken by the Coastguard. As this is an ongoing incident, we have no further updates at this time.”
British Red Cross director of refugee support Alex Fraser said: “That anyone is making this journey in these temperatures shows just how desperate people are.
“Nobody puts their life at risk like this unless they feel they have no other option, and until we have more accessible safe routes for people to claim asylum, there is a danger we may see more such incidents.
“Our thoughts are with those on the boat, their families and those involved in the ongoing rescue mission.”
Care4Calais, Clare Moseley, said:“There are no words to express our horror and grief at today’s tragedy. A full year on from 32 people losing their lives in the Channel, our Government has done nothing to prevent further deaths and so has failed both the refugees who need our help and our country.
“Three weeks ago we stood in solidarity with the relatives of those 32 souls and felt their undiminished grief. It is unbearable to think that more families will now suffer the same pain.
“Both then and now, these deaths are wholly unnecessary and preventable. By failing to act, our government has blood on their hands."
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “We are devastated to hear news of the incident in the Channel today and heartbroken at the reports of fatalities.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected and we pay tribute to the rescue teams working on such a dreadful incident.
“Sadly, this is not the first time we are waking up to such devastating news of people having lost their lives on a harrowing journey to Britain in search of safety.
“It is just over a year since 32 lives were lost in a similar incident. Like those involved in this incident today, they had hopes and dreams for the future. They weren’t illegal. They were desperately seeking safety.
“We will be monitoring the situation carefully and in the meantime, we thank all those people who have expressed their sympathy and solidarity with those affected by today’s horrendous incident.”
Jasmine O’Connor OBE, CEO of Anti-Slavery International: “Words cannot comprehend our sadness upon hearing of the tragedy in the English Channel this morning. Our thoughts are with the families of those who were seeking sanctuary on our shores, who deserve to be able to do so with safety and dignity.
“In a week sandwiched by Human Rights Day and International Migrants Day, we are witnessing a Government systematically withholding rights of vulnerable people and dismantling the systems of support for modern slavery victims. Amid freezing temperatures that have swept the country, tragically, today people have died off our coast.
“We have seen rhetoric lead to real harm. If we demonise our neighbours and deny safe migration routes, we will continue to see disaster and tragedy as we are seeing today. Not only does this dangerous rhetoric undermine the safety of victims of trafficking, but the lack of safe routes leaves the door wide open for traffickers, meaning more people will be at risk of exploitation. It is necessary to fight the hostility that is putting vulnerable people in more harmful, often deadly, situations. As a country, as humans, it's time to look in the mirror. We must do better than this.”
