Six people dead and dozens of migrants rescued from Channel waters after small boat capsizes
The RNLI said a Dover volunteer lifeboat crew "launched just before 4am to an incident in the Channel."
GBNEWS
Six people have been confirmed dead and over 50 have been rescued after a migrant boat capsized in the Channel this morning, GB News sources have confirmed.
The small boat is believed to have got into difficulty at around 5am on Saturday morning due to severe adverse weather conditions, before being rescued around 5 miles from the French coast.
Though the vessel was reportedly rescued around 5 miles from the coast of Sangatte, near Calais, 13 of those rescued were taken to Dover afterwards for the operation was a joint effort between the two nations.
GB News Kent producer filmed at Dover harbour as a number of people were taken off the Dover lifeboat on stretchers and transferred to waiting ambulances.
Casualties were taken to the Western Jet Foil quay, where there is a Border Force centre.
It has been reported that at least five people were taken to a hospital in Calais by helicopter.
Five French ships, two British ships and a helicopter are said to be currently engaged in a search and rescue operation following the incident off Cap Gris Nez in Northern France.
The RNLI said a Dover volunteer lifeboat crew "launched just before 4am to an incident in the Channel."
The Home Office will chair an emergency meeting of the Small Boats Operational Gold Command on Saturday morning.
Rescued migrants sit on a French rescue ship after a migrant boat trying to cross the Channel from France capsized, in Calais, France, August 12, 2023.
ANNE THOREL/SNSM via REUTERS
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: "My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic loss of life in the Channel today.
"This morning I spoke with our Border Force teams who have been supporting the French authorities in response to this incident."
It comes as a major milestone has been reached in the small boats crisis, as 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since the crisis began in 2018.
The landmark figure was reached on Thursday, when a further 550 people crossed in 11 small boats.
On Friday, French officials said they rescued 116 people from 3 small boats that ran into difficulty in French waters.
A day before, 17 people were rescued from the Channel by the RNLI.
The RNLI said a Dover volunteer lifeboat crew "launched just before 4am to an incident in the Channel."
GBNEWS
The French Prime Minister, Elizabeth Borne, has tweeted: "This morning, a migrant boat capsized off Calais. My thoughts are with the victims.
"I salute the commitment of the rescue teams mobilized around the @MarineNationale who saved around fifty shipwrecked people."
Elsewhere, asylum seekers are being escorted off the Bibby Stockholm barge just four days after boarding, after Legionella bacteria was found in the water system.
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A French rescue boat arrives in Calais after a migrant boat trying to cross the Channel from France capsized, in Calais, France, August 12, 2023.
REUTERS
Legionella bacteria can cause a serious lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease, though none of those on the barge are reported to have any symptoms.
The first 15 asylum seekers boarded the barge docked in Portland, Dorset, on Monday, with more arriving a day later.
It is now understood that all 39 asylum seekers will disembark the vessel as a precautionary measure and move to alternative accommodation.
When up and running, up to 500 men aged between 18 and 65 will be housed in the temporary floating accommodation while waiting on the outcome of their asylum application.
Firefighters have described the vessel docked off the Dorset coast as a “potential death trap” due to fire risk and overcrowding.