Group of 49 migrants in small boats are rescued off Kent coast after making perilous overnight Channel crossing
- In the early hours of Boxing Day, UK Border Force officers detained the migrants
- The treacherous overnight Channel crossing would have been bitterly cold
- The migrants were seen walking up the gangway wrapped in thermal blankets
A group of 49 migrants crammed into four small boats have been intercepted making the perilous journey to British shores this morning.
In the early hours of Boxing Day, UK Border Force officers detained the Iranian, Iraqi and Afghan citizens – including one child – and brought them into the Port of Dover.
The treacherous overnight Channel crossing would have been bitterly cold, and the mostly male migrants were seen walking up the gangway wrapped in thermal survival blankets.
When the authorities were alerted to a possible breach of the border at 1.30am, they dispatched a HM Coastguard helicopter, a fixed-wing spotter airplane, two Border Force ships and the Dover lifeboat.
A Sky News reporter said: ‘Many of them had life jackets on, which were taken off by those officials when they got to the top of that gangway and put in a pile to one side, and they were led to [a] shipping container where they were given hot drinks and blankets.’
In the early hours of Boxing Day, UK Border Force officers detained the migrants and brought them into the Port of Dover (pictured arriving)
The treacherous overnight Channel crossing would have been bitterly cold, and the mostly male migrants were seen walking up the gangway wrapped in thermal survival blankets
HM Coastguard said it had been coordinating the response to a ‘number of incidents’ off the Kent coast.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Illegal migration is a criminal activity. Those who seek to come to the UK illegally and the ruthless criminals who facilitate journeys are all breaking the law and endangering lives.
‘When people arrive on our shores unlawfully, we will work to return them to mainland Europe.’
More than 1,700 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year.
The migrant crisis erupted last November, with hundreds arriving in the final two months of 2018.
It prompted then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid to declare a ‘major incident’, calling in extra Border Force cutters and the Government spending millions of pounds to tackle the issue.
But the problem has worsened throughout 2019, and Home Secretary Priti Patel revealed in October she had agreed an ‘action plan’ with France.
She said patrols across the French coast had been doubled to stop people smugglers, and the Home Office had already funded drones to scour France’s beaches – but the crossings have continued.
The migrants had been given lifejackets by Border Force and were given hot drinks on their detainment, Sky News reported
Last month, at least 129 migrants made it into the UK by making the life-risking trip across the Dover Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Newly elected Dover MP Natalie Elphicke met with the Home Secretary last week to discuss the situation.
Mrs Elphicke said last week: ‘The French have been given tens of millions of pounds of British hard-earned taxpayer money to stop illegal departures from their shores. I want to know where the money has gone.
‘Because while much has been done, it is clear there is more to do. More to do tackling the people traffickers behind this shocking trade in people. More to do making sure anyone found in the Channel is immediately sent back to France.
‘More to do by the French to stop these illegal departures from French shores. That is the best deterrent – to make sure this illegal activity cannot succeed.’