Eight Iranian migrants including two young children are picked up in a small boat in the English Channel taking the number recovered to 29 in two weeks
- Eight migrants were picked up by Border Force officers off the coast of Dover
- The group who all claim to be Iranian were interviewed by immigration officials
- It takes the number of migrants recovered in English Channel to 29 in two weeks
A group of eight Iranian migrants were picked up in a small boat in the English Channel today.
The migrants, who all claimed to be Iranian, were found by Border Force officers off the coast of Dover, Kent, at 4am.
The discovery takes the number of migrants recovered from the English Channel to 29 in two weeks.
A group of eight Iranian migrants were picked up in a small boat in the English Channel today. Pictured, a stock image of a Border Force patrol vessel leaving Dover
After being picked up, the eight migrants were checked over by medics before being taken for interview with immigration officials.
The group becomes the latest to make the perilous trip across the Channel, following on from hundreds over the past six months.
The crisis – which peaked at the end of 2018 – sparked Home Secretary Sajid Javid into declaring a ‘major incident’, with two Border Force cutters called in to halt the influx.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘At 4am today a Border Force cutter deployed in the Channel intercepted a vessel off the Kent coast travelling towards the UK.
‘Anyone crossing the Channel in a small boat is taking a huge risk with their life and the lives of their children.
‘The eight people on board were transferred to the cutter and brought to Dover.
‘All eight were medically assessed and passed to immigration officials for interview.
‘The group consisted of six men and two young children who presented themselves as Iranian nationals.’
29 migrants were picked up in the Channel in
On Thursday, April 4 three British men were arrested and eights migrants detained after two boats came ashore on the Kent coast.
The discovery takes the number of migrants discovered in the English Channel to 29 in two weeks. Stock image shows the English Channel
On Tuesday, April 9, 21 migrants – including a one-year-old baby – tried to get over from Calais in two separate boats.
The first boat was carrying nine migrants when it ran into trouble off the Calais coast and called for help.
The French navy and a helicopter were immediately deployed and managed to rescue the group.
At around 7am, a second boat carrying 12 migrants, including two two-year-old children and a one-year-old child broke down in the Channel.
They phoned for the emergency services and rescuers attended the incident and returned them to the town of Boulogne.
Last week, 21 migrants – including a one-year-old baby – tried to get over from Calais in two separate boats. The first boat was intercepted on French waters in a rescue mission, while the second boat broke down in the Channel. Images released by the French authorities showed the second group of migrants who were rescued from a dinghy on Tuesday afternoon
The migrants arrived on the coast without being picked up by Border Force in the Channel. Pictured, a view of the iconic White Cliffs of Dover from the English Channel
Seven of them, including the children, were suffering from hypothermia and were taken to hospital, according to a report in the La Voix Du Nord newspaper.
The Home Office spokesman added: ‘This is a complex issue which requires action on many fronts.
‘Since the Home Secretary declared a major incident in December two cutters have returned to UK waters from overseas operations, we have agreed a joint action plan with France and increased activity out of the Joint action plan with France and increased activity out of the Joint Coordination and Information Centre in Calais.
‘It is an established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and since January, working closely with France and other countries, more than 20 people who arrived illegally in the UK in small boats have been returned to Europe.’