36 migrants saved trying to reach UK
THIRTY-SIX migrants – including children – were rescued yesterday as they tried to reach Britain on dinghies.
Officials said they were stopped in three separate incidents off the Kent coast as they attempted to cross the Channel.
The groups are thought to have been tempted to make the journey because of the recent fine weather. The total number caught in one day was a record for this year so far.
In the first incident, a Border Force cutter was scrambled in the early hours to intercept a small vessel.
A group of 11 men on board, who said they were Iranian and Iraqi, were brought on to the Border Force ship and taken to Dover. They were medically assessed and transferred to immigration officials for interview.
In the second incident, a dinghy was found with 15 people on board including men, women and children, who said they were Iraqi. Several were said to be unconscious.
They were taken to Dungeness by the RNLI and treated before being handed over to immigration officials.
A short while later, Border Force intercepted a third boat with nine men and one woman on board, who said they were Iranian. They were then brought to Dover.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Anyone crossing the Channel in a small boat is taking a huge risk.
‘It is an established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. Since January more than 20 people who arrived illegally in the UK in small boats have been returned to Europe.’ Border Force currently has two patrol vessels in the Channel as well as three cutters – HMC Vigilant, HMC Searcher and HMC Seeker – which can rescue several boatloads of people at once.
A fourth cutter, HMC Protector, is also on standby in UK waters.
Seeker and Protector were redeployed from the Mediterranean after Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared a major incident in December.
A total of 539 migrants tried to travel to the UK on small boats in 2018. Most crossing attempts this year have coincided with the better weather.