BREAKING: Border Force responds to ‘urgent incident’ off the Essex coast near Felixstowe
Fears up to three migrants have drowned in worst ever incident off English coast after going overboard as rescuers pull two others to safety from ‘very small boat’ 30 miles from Essex
Border Force initially refused to explain exact nature of the incidentBut HM Coastguard confirmed it was a rescue operation it was coordinatingIt sent a helicopter and fixed wing aircraft to look for anyone in the watersTwo migrants have been rescued but at least three are missing in the Channel The waters are used by people smugglers to try and get migrants into the UK
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
Border Force officers and rescue crews are desperately searching the Channel amid fears three migrants have died from a dinghy in the worst ever incident off the coast of England.
The authorities had already rescued two from the sinking inflatable vessel off Harwich, Essex, last night but renewed the search this morning.
Rescuers are still dealing with the ‘ongoing’ call-out, which has even sparked spotting aircraft being launched to help.
It is being coordinated by HM Coastguard and it sent a helicopter from Lydd and a fixed wing plane.
It is understood they are looking for Somali national passengers from a dinghy who may have left France as early as the weekend.
Fears over them have crystallised after days of treacherous weather and winds off the shores.
Harwich and North Essex MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said: ‘Obviously the potential loss of life is extremely distressing.
‘We should be extremely grateful to Border Force, the RNLI and search and rescue teams for all their efforts.
‘We must redouble our efforts to deal with the criminal gangs who are trafficking migrants, taking money from them and putting them in great peril.’
The authorities were first alerted to the boat on Monday evening just after 4.30pm and the RNLI launched and managed to rescue two people.
They were told more had originally been on the ‘extremely small’ vessel and they went out again searching for them between 11.35pm last night and 8am today.
Border Force and other small boats in the area joined the hunt but have not updated on how the mission is going some eight hours after it launched.
If the trio are found dead it would be the worst ever fatalities incident of its kind off the coast of England.
As of 4pm the Home Office refused to comment on specifics and released very little information.
The route the migrants are believed to have attempted is twice as long as the shortest trip
There have been spotter aircraft over the waters outside Harwich during the night and day
Border Force officials are still desperately searching for three feared dead from the boat
Photographs from down in Dover, Kent, today showed migrants arriving in a different cross
The only update it provided was at 1pm saying it was ‘working on a coordinated search and rescue operation following an incident on Monday’.
The location is not the usual area for migrants to attempt crossings, but attempts to reach the UK have proved fatal before.
A 27-year-old Eritrean man died in August this year after a boat carrying 36 people began to sink off the coast of France.
And in October last year a family died attempting to cross from Calais to the UK just off Dunkirk.
Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35, Anita, nine, and Armin, six, were all from Iran.
Their 15-month-old baby Artin was never found.
The location of the rescue is near port of Harwich in Essex but other ships are moving freely
The rescued people were brought make to land after arriving down in Dover, Kent, today
Family tragedy: Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35 (far left), Anita, aged nine (centre), Armin, aged six (second from right) and Shiva Mohammed Panahi, 35 (far right), all drowned alongside Artin (pictured on relative’s knee second from left)
A group of migrants rescued by the RNLI back in October 16 and brought into Dungerness
The predominantly male group were brought abroad shore and brought to border officials
They made the trip through the icy waters because they were worried about being in Calais during the winter, it was claimed at the time.
Record numbers have desperately attempted to cross the Channel with 2,500 having made the journey in October alone.
Figures this year have tripled those from 2020, with so 19,500 making crossings compared to 8,410.
This latest disaster at sea focuses the danger the men, women and children attempting the crossings are facing.
At Harwich this afternoon the RNLI has also confirmed it had launched a lifeboat to the scene.
A spokeswoman told MailOnline: ‘HM Coastguard will continue to safeguard life around the seas and coastal areas of the UK, working with search and rescue resources in the area.
‘If a vessel needs search and rescue assistance, HM Coastguard will continue to respond and rescue those in danger.’
The route is a known people-smuggling passage and scores of migrants have been discovered there before.
Because it is such a busy port criminals often use fishing boats to get them onshore, rather than dinghies.
Earlier this year the RNLI said it was proud of its lifesaving rescuing migrants in the Channel.
The charity said in a tweet: ‘Those we rescue are vulnerable people in danger & distress.
‘Each of them is someone’s father, mother, son or daughter – every life is precious. This is why we launch.’
