Janice R. Andrews
Following rumors of a troubled migrant boat, a massive rescue operation was begun this morning in the English Channel. The Press Association reports that after their sailboat ran into trouble, about 80 migrants were saved. It has been reported that some of the people were taken out of the water.
The incident happened on Thursday morning off the coast of Kent. Coastguard and lifeboat teams responded right away, helping the Border Force with the rescue operations.
No fatalities have been reported as of yet, and it’s not apparent if any of the rescued migrants will need to be admitted to the hospital.
An HM Coastguard representative said, “We are coordinating the response to a small boat incident in the channel.” The coastguard went on to say that RNLI lifeboats and helicopters from Lydd and Lee-on-Solent were sent out for the mission.
“HM Coastguard tasked the Dover RNLI all-weather lifeboat and the Walmer inshore lifeboat to launch this morning, June 6, to an incident in the English Channel,” an RNLI official continued.
This event comes after a recent spike in cross-Channel traffic. Government records show that 331 migrants have arrived in the UK using small boats in the last seven days alone. Furthermore, the Home Office said that on May 1st, 711 migrants crossed the Channel in 14 boats, setting a record for the most individuals to cross in a single day last month.
