07 November 2020

Migrants brought ashore by Border Force after crossing Channel on dinghy

07 November 2020

Around half a dozen people attempting to cross the Channel have been brought ashore in Kent by immigration officials, after nearly 100 migrants made the same perilous journey in just two days.

Seven men and one woman were seen huddled in a small dinghy on a bright but chilly Saturday afternoon as they tried to reach Britain, before they were picked up and taken to Dover by Border Force.

Pictures of the incident show the group wearing orange hi-vis life jackets and face coverings on board a Border Force vessel, with one man seen draped in a blanket after reaching the shore.

Migrant Channel crossing incidents (PA Wire)

It comes after 96 people made the same journey across the English Channel over Thursday and Friday, according to figures from the Home Office.

People aboard three boats arrived on Friday while a young child and a woman believed to be the mother were among those led ashore the day before.

Clandestine Channel Threat Commander Dan O’Mahoney said more than 60 people were stopped by the French from making the dangerous crossing over the last two days.

The crossings are the first following the deaths of a Kurdish-Iranian family, who lost their lives when their overcrowded boat sank off the coast of France last week.

On October 27, Rasoul Iran-Nejad and his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, both 35, lost their lives along with their children Anita, nine, and Armin, six.

Their baby son Artin, just 15 months old, was also on board and is missing, presumed dead.

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