Hunt for migrant who ‘fell of f ’ Channel boat

Drama after two men are rescued 30 miles offshore

A MASSIVE search was carried out in the North Sea yesterday after a migrant was reported to have fallen from a dinghy.

The air and sea operation – launched on Monday afternoon – earlier recovered two Somali men from the dinghy 30 miles off the coast.

The migrants told rescuers three others had fallen overboard, sources told the Mail. They said two went into the water at the beginning of their trip in French waters and another off the British coast. Yesterday’s operation involving Border Force vessels, lifeboats and coastguard teams centred on an area off Harwich, Essex – 50 miles from the area of Kent where most migrant boats land after crossing the Channel. The dinghy was recovered in the rescue operation in choppy sea conditions.

Further lifeboat launches took place yesterday morning, but no one was found and the search and rescue operation was called off at 2pm. The Somali men are understood to have told the Border Force they left from a beach near Calais on Saturday. A Home Office spokesman said: ‘This afternoon an extensive search and rescue operation for a man reported to have entered the water off the Essex coast concluded.

‘We want to thank those who responded and who continue to work tirelessly to protect lives at sea whilst securing our border.

‘It is a reminder of the extreme dangers of crossing the Channel in small boats and the callous disregard for life shown by the criminal gangs. We are determined to do all we can to prevent people dying in the Channel.’ The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said a helicopter and plane took part in the operation. Harwich and North Essex MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said: ‘The potential loss of life is extremely distressing. We must redouble our efforts to deal with the criminal gangs trafficking migrants, taking money from them and putting them in great peril.’

Last night there was no official indication that traffickers had provided the dinghy.

There has been a long line of tragic deaths while crossing the perilous water. Last month, Border Force crews recovered a man’s body in the sea while in August a 27-year-old Eritrean drowned while trying to cross on a raft.

The Home Office last night said 145 migrants were intercepted or rescued in the Channel yesterday. The number of migrants reaching Britain has hit nearly 20,000 so far this year compared with 8,410 in the whole of 2020.