Migrants rescued from sinking dinghy as English Channel crossings rise

Several migrants have been pulled from the English Channel after their dinghy began to sink, amid a busy day for arrivals. The RNLI launched lifeboats from four locations to the incident on Thursday morning, and said it believed everyone who fell into the sea had been rescued. A spokesperson said: ‘Lifeboats from Dover, Ramsgate and Dungeness, along with Littlestone RNLI’s inshore lifeboat, were tasked to an incident in the Channel by HM Coastguard. ‘On arrival at the scene, some casualties were found to be in the water. All casualties are believed to be accounted for and were brought to safety by the RNLI’s volunteer crews.’ The incident came amid reports of a high number of crossings in the English Channel on Thursday morning, which saw calm seas and warm weather. Women and children were among the people seen being taken ashore by rescue crews in Dover. It follows weeks of unseasonably windy and rough conditions that have suppressed the number of dinghies making the journey below the summer averages seen in previous years. More than 15,000 people have arrived on small boats so far this year, compared to around 18,600 by the same point of 2022. But Thursday’s arrivals tipped the total number of small boat migrants to arrive in the UK since 2018 over 100,000. The landmark comes during the government’s unofficially-declared ‘small boats week’, which it has used to make a series of announcements regarding efforts to combat crossings. Monday saw the first asylum seekers moved onto the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset, which had been hampered by delays and safety concerns. After being forced to reverse transfer notices for at least 20 migrants, which had been issued in violation of Home Office guidance , it issued ‘threatening’ letters telling selected people to move onto the barge or face having government housing withdrawn. The government has also announced a crackdown on immigration lawyers it claims are helping migrants ‘exploit’ the system, and a new partnership with Turkey to disrupt the supply of dinghies.