British fisherman tells Sky News how crew saved dozens ‘screaming for help’ from sinking boat
A fisherman whose crew saved 31 people stranded in the English Channel said he was woken in the early hours of the morning when migrants surrounded his boat “screaming for help”.
Skipper Raymond told Sky News he had been sleeping when he was awoken by a member of his crew, who told him, “There are migrants alongside the boat.”
“One guy was hanging off my wire,” he said.
“I thought at first it was just him, and once I got my fishing gear up – which took about three minutes – I stopped my boat and ran outside and along the port side there were five of them hanging off the side of my boat.”
Raymond said he then counted 45 people holding onto the collapsed dinghy and surrounding his fishing boat.
Four people have now died after the small boat got into difficulty off the coast of Kent in the early hours of this morning.
Channel incident latest updates: Sunak expresses ‘sorrow’ over Channel deaths
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The scene shows migrants being rescued
After the first five were pulled aboard, the rest of those stranded began swimming towards his boat.
“It was like something out of a second world war movie, there were people in the water everywhere, screaming,” he said.
In footage shared with Sky News, the fishing crew can be seen hauling the panicked people over the side of the boat.
“The dinghy started to drift away, so I steamed towards the dinghy and we secured it with a rope to the side of the boat,” he said.
“We were trying to pull them off the dinghy.”
The incident involved a small boat
They told me they’d paid £5,000 to a smuggler in France
After calling the UK coastguard just before 3am, Raymond’s fishing crew spent two hours pulling people from the water: “Adrenaline kicks in and you find the strength to get these guys safe.”
He said those he rescued came from Afghanistan, Iraq, Senegal and India, and they told him they had each paid £5,000 to a smuggler in France for passage into the UK.
But as the crew began pulling away, taking its passengers into port, they realised one migrant had attached himself to the side of the boat and drowned.
“One of the crew shouted, woah, there’s a rope on the starboard side of the boat.
“The next thing I knew this rope was attached to a dead body.
“We had been concentrating on the port side and this one person had swum to the starboard side, tied a rope onto my fishing gear and tied it around his wrist to keep himself alongside the boat.
“When I put my boat into gear his body floated up.”
Crew gave them ‘any clothes they had’ and put them in their beds
A government source said 43 people have been rescued alive and brought to the UK. Some of those rescued were taken from the boat and others from the water.
After being pulled from the water, Raymond says he gave everyone a “lukewarm shower”, to slowly warm them back up.
“We stripped all their wet clothes off, and my crew gave them any clothes they had to keep them warm,” he said.
“We put them in beds to keep them warm, with quilts, to get there body temperature up slowly.”
All 31 rescued by Raymond’s team had survived, he said.
“It was very lucky that the sea conditions were good. It was very cold,” he said.
“When we got into Dover, a medical came down and checked on them and he couldn’t believe how good a condition they were in, none of them had any hypothermia.”
“I just see it as saving human life,” he added.
The route of one of the SAR helicopters. Pic:FlightRadar24.com
More feared dead due to icy conditions
Searches will continue all day, but at this stage more are feared dead given the icy conditions, with temperatures believed to be as low as -4C overnight.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said HM Coastguard is working with the RNLI, Royal Navy, Border Force, French navy and Kent Police to look for the boat, while an air ambulance has also been sent to the scene.
A UK government spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident in UK waters and all relevant agencies are supporting a co-ordinated response. Further details will be provided in due course.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in a Commons statement that it was a “terrible tragedy”, and she had spoken to her French counterpart and is working “closely with the local authorities”.
Tottenham let slip a two-goal lead before losing a penalty shootout to Paris St Germain (PSG) in the final of the UEFA Super Cup.
Spurs defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero scored from set pieces to put the north London side on their way to winning the trophy, in what was manager Thomas Frank’s first game in charge.
However, Champions League winners PSG, who were thrashed in the Club World Cup final by Chelsea last month, produced a stunning response after Kang-in Lee pulled one back with five minutes left.
Tottenham’s Cristian Romero scores his side’s second goal. Pic: AP
PSG striker Goncalo Ramos, who was brought on in the 77th minute, forced the game to penalties after scoring a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
The Super Cup final, played each year between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League, does not feature extra time – meaning the game went straight to spot kicks.
Tottenham players react during the penalty shootout. Pic: AP
Europa League winners Tottenham initially had the advantage when Vitinha missed PSG’s first kick – but it was followed by Van de Ven and Mathys Tel failing to score their penalties.
PSG, managed by Luis Enrqiue, went on to win 4-3.
PSG’s players celebrate after winning the final. Pic: AP
The PSG players poured on to the pitch in celebration, knowing they had etched their names into history as the first French side to lift the trophy.
“It’s incredible to win like this. This team once again showed character, even if we’re not at our physical best,” PSG defender Marquinhos said.
Read more from Sky News:
Three teens in court over man’s murder
What to expect from Trump-Putin summit
PSG’s Marquinhos lifts the trophy. Pic: AP
“We managed to get the goals we needed through the substitutions, and in the shootout we have players who take their penalties well and a goalkeeper who helped us.”
Tottenham, who finished 17th in the Premier League last season, were unable to win what would have been their second trophy in 17 years – with the first one coming when they beat Manchester United in Europe’s second-tier competition in May.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike